- Conference
- 2015 Police & Justice Service Group Conference
- Date
- 1 October 2015
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that on the 15th July 2015 the Home Office began a consultation process on proposals to reform the police funding formula. This consultation ended on the 15th Sept 2015.
The proposals within the consultation are to reform the existing funding system for police forces in England and Wales with five identified guiding principles; to create a model that is robust, stable, transparent, future proof and incentivise Government objectives, with an implementation date for the 2016/17 financial year.
The way that this funding is calculated will determine how much each police force will receive, which in turn will determine how many police staff each force can afford to employ.
In order for each force to meet it’s policing need, the funding model needs to be sufficient enough to provide each area with an acceptable level of resources. This formula must be fair and equitable, however we do not believe that this is the case with the proposed formula.
An example of this is the number of bars per hectare ratio. This calculation unfairly underfunds some forces that cover both urban and rural areas. A more appropriate and balanced formula would be based on bar volume.
This will leave some police forces, and possibly targeted political areas, significantly underfunded compared to others.
Conference calls upon the Service Group Executive to:
1. Survey Police Forces and PCCs on how the new formula affects them with the aim to gain an understanding on how fair and proportionate the funding is.
2 Use the information from the survey to raise awareness of the impact and importance of this funding and how it will affect Police Staff members in each force.
2. Campaign against the proposals that are considered to be unfair and disproportionate.
3. Contact all candidates in the run up to the 2016 PCC elections seeking their view on the funding formula.
4. Survey each 2016 PCC candidate on how the funding formula will affect their plans for Police Staff within their force.