Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how recent reductions in the National Police Air Service budget will be distributed between police forces in (a) the East Midlands and (b) the Eastern region.

The National Police Air Service (NPAS) is a police-led operational initiative,
with all strategic decisions, including agreeing the budget and operating
model, taken by the Strategic Board which comprises Police and Crime
Commissioners (PCCs) and Chief Constables. The Board agreed to convene a small
working group of PCCs to define a more equitable future funding model for all
force areas.

The Strategic Board agreed on 19 February a new optimised operating model that
will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the service, and will mean
that every air base supports police forces 24 hours a day. NPAS modelling
indicates that Northamptonshire will remain within the 20 minute Priority 1
Service Level Agreement for NPAS. The new operating model will include an
enhanced fixed-wing aircraft capability within the NPAS fleet.

Home Office Ministers have been kept informed of the development of NPAS’s new
operating model, and officials attend the NPAS Strategic Board meetings in a
non-voting capacity.