APCC Finance Lead, PFCC said:
“Police and Crime Commissioners welcome today’s settlement which
provides additional funding for police forces in 2018/19 and
transparency on 2019/20’s settlement at this early stage. We have
worked closely with the Home Office and Police Chiefs in recent
months to make a detailed, evidenced based case for more
investment in policing.
“Demand on policing is increasing as is the complexity of the
cases forces deal with and this trend is predicted to continue
over the next few years. This further investment by the
Government will help forces across the country invest in the
prevention and public protection that the public expect and
deserve.
“The majority of PCCs will also warmly welcome the Government’s
decision to allow flexibility around local council tax precept
levels. We have strongly argued that democratically elected local
representatives, such as PCCs, should be able to decide the
funding of services in their areas and be held to account by
their local communities for the decisions they make.
“However, given the different levels of precept and share of
budget accounted for by council tax across different forces we
must recognise that some forces still face significant challenges
and we look forward to the conclusion of the work on a fairer
funding formula ahead of the next spending review.
“In terms of future productivity and efficiency, there is a good
deal of symmetry between what the Home Office is looking for
police leaders to deliver and the work that we are progressing.
PCCs clearly understand the need for further action in this area
and we continue to work with the Home Office on this.
“While we welcome the additional £50 million funding for counter
terrorism announced by the Government we remain concerned as to
whether there is sufficient funding to meet increases in demand.
PCCs will want to ensure that their communities are protected and
will be mindful of the local policing support which is required
to deliver this effectively.”
