Conservatives: Police Funding Settlement leaves forces facing cuts of 3,500 officers

Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Philp MP said:

"Labour have no plan to ensure law and order in this country. 

"They threw open the prison doors, and now they risk axing 3,500 officers from front-line duty. Labour has slapped us with £40 billion of tax cuts, and now they leave police forces facing cuts of 3,500 frontline police officers – even after accounting for next year's funding for the bogus pledge to recruit more neighbourhood officers. 

"The British public deserves to know the Government will give the police the funding they need, including a properly funded plan to recruit police officers. 

“When you remove the £230 million that simply makes up for Labour's national insurance increase, the funding increase offered here is less than last year – with central Government funding up just £427m compared to an increase of £624m under the last Government.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst said:

"This settlement just is not enough to meet pay and inflationary pressures. It leaves a gap of £218 million, which is equal to the costs of retaining more than 3,500 officers. 

"We need police on our streets to keep the public safe, and we need Labour to commit to matching the previous Conservatives government funding."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Extra costs for 25/26 are:

• £326m extra for pay relating to 2.25 per cent of 4.75 per cent pay rise in Sept 2024 not covered by the previous SR
• Pay progression / pay increment pressures as officers get more seniority = £354m [£8m in Essex and Essex is 2.26 per cent of policing so 8/2.26 per cent = £354m]
• Allow £170m for a 2.5 per cent pay rise in Sept 2025 for the latter 7 months of the financial year (could be more) [2.5 per cent x £11.5b x 7 / 12]
• Allow £125m for 2.5 per cent general inflation in non-staff costs [2.5 per cent x £5b non-pay spend; actual non-pay inflation running at 5.3 per cent so building in 2.8 per cent efficiency gains]
• £230m extra for national insurance

Total extra costs for 25/26 = £1,205m

Extra funding for 25/26 is:

• Extra govt funds: £427m (including the extra £100 million for neighbourhood policing)
• Extra NI money: £230m
• Extra precept money: £330m

Total: £987m extra (UK Parliament, Provisional Police Grant Report (England and Wales) 2025-26, 17 December 2024, link).

 As a result, there is a shortfall of £218 million. This results in 3,500 officers, at £63,000 per officer (Home Office, Policy Paper, 5 March 2024, link).

• Only 3,000 of the 13,000 neighbourhood police officers are extra new police officers. It was reported that the Home Office has requested funding for the recruitment of 3,000 fully warranted officers, 4,000 police community support officers and training and expenses for 3,000 additional special constables, who are unpaid volunteers. An additional 3,000 officers will be diverted from the existing workforce to make up the new neighbourhood policing programme (The Times, 2 December 2024, link). 

• Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned that he faces having to cut 2,300 officers as a result of funding cuts. Rowley said the Met Police force will be ‘scaling back our ability to tackle serious violence and organised crime' under plans to cut 2,300 officers and 400 staff due to a £450m budget ‘black hole' (The Daily Mail, 14 November 2024, link; The Daily Mail, 10 December 2024, link).

• The Conservative Government boosted police funding to over £18 billion, giving them the resources they need to make the streets safer. Police funding is £18.4 billion for 2024-25, representing 30.7 per cent cash terms increase compared to 2019-20, keeping communities safe (Home Office, Press Release, 14 December 2023, link).