Provisional Police Funding Announcement

Lord Herbert of South Downs Excerpts

Thursday 8th December 2011 Written Statements

[The Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice (Nick Herbert)]

I have today placed in the Library my proposals for the aggregate amount of grant to police authorities (referred to in the report as the police core settlement) in England and Wales for 2012-13, for the approval of the House. The indications I gave last year for revenue funding in 2012-13 have remained unchanged and are set out in table 3.

Today the Department for Communities and Local Government also published proposals for the distribution of formula grant to English local authorities for 2012-13. The Welsh Government will shortly be setting out their proposals for the allocation of funding in 2012-13 for the four police authorities in Wales.

Overall police settlement

As set out in the Chancellor’s autumn statement on 29 November, public sector pay awards win average at 1% for the last two years of the spending review period. As a result, the Home Office budget will be adjusted in line with this policy. Subject to any recommendations from the police negotiating board and agreement on staff pay, we expect that this policy should also apply to the police. This revision should not reduce the overall revenue spending power of the police service. I will make decisions on damping levels for these years at a later date.

For 2012-13 I have applied damping as previously announced at the time of the spending review.

The total cash reduction in Government funding to the police remains at 5% this year.

I will continue to provide a specific neighbourhood policing fund for 2012-13. This recognises that neighbourhood policing provides a dedicated, consistent and visible presence in communities. From 2013-14 this funding will be rolled into the police main grant, enabling the new directly elected police and crime commissioners to have full discretion over their funding, recognising their accountability to the communities they serve. In London, the Metropolitan Police Authority received autonomy over this funding from 2011-12, in recognition of the role the Mayor of London and the Deputy Mayor, policing already play. That will continue in 2012-13.

I win also continue to provide specific funding for counter terrorism policing and have provided relative protection to this budget throughout the spending review period to ensure that critical national counter terrorism capabilities are maintained. Authorities and forces will receive their specific counter terrorism allocations in January.

In addition to the police core settlement, the Olympic safety and security budget has been prioritised. These provisions are detailed below.

The introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners

During 2012-13 the public will elect their first police and crime commissioners in England and Wales. It is the will of the House that police authorities will be replaced on the 22 November 2012 with directly elected individuals who will have the statutory duty to deliver an efficient and effective police force, which clearly demonstrates value for money and, above all, delivers policing and community safety services in the local and national interest of the communities within their force area. The precept that police authorities will set for 2012-13, will not be affected by the election of police and crime commissioners in November 2012. Once elected police and crime commissioners will begin to prepare their police and crime plan and budget for 2013-14.

Some £50 million was set aside for 2012-13 to fund the first elections of police and crime commissioners. This £50 million was added to the police settlement for this specific purpose. Additional funding has been set aside now that the 2012 elections are being held in November. The funding of the elections has had no impact on the amount of funding available to forces over the four-year period of PCC office and we expect it to represent no more than 0.15% of annual police funding.

The Police Grant Settlement 2012-13

I have set out below how I propose to allocate the police settlement between the different funding streams in 2012-13.