Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding they have allocated to (1) the police service, and (2) the fire and rescue service in 2025–26 to cover the cost of the rise in employers' National Insurance contributions; what methodology they used to calculate the amount allocated to each service; and what methodology they used to calculate the funding allocated to (a) standalone fire and rescue authorities, and (b) fire and rescue services that are part of a county council.

At the Budget in October the Chancellor set aside £4.7 billion of funding for departments in order to support them with the increased costs as a result of the rise in employer national insurance contributions.

This funding has been allocated to departments, with the Barnett formula applying in the usual way, which is in line with the approach taken under the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy. It is for the relevant department to decide the appropriate distribution of funding amongst workforces, including police and fire services.

Updated departmental budgets for 2025/26 including allocations were published at the Spring Statement. The Government also plans to publish individual departments’ allocations as part of Main estimates.