Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Requests Funding Allocation Review

Kent’s police and crime commissioner is requesting an immediate examination of how police funding is distributed, following the October Budget announcement. Matthew Scott stated that the recently announced changes to employers’ National Insurance contributions are projected to impose an additional cost of £5.7m on the force. In an open letter sent to the Home Office, he articulated that Kent Police is currently grappling with “an acute problem,” which is intensified by what he termed an “unfair funding arrangement.” A spokesperson for the Home Office, however, asserted that the budget delivered “real increases in funding for policing.” Police funding is derived from two main sources: a government grant and a portion of the council tax collected annually. The specific amount each force receives from the government is determined by a complex formula that incorporates several factors, including population. In his letter, Mr Scott pointed out that if any supplementary funding to help cover the increases in employers’ National Insurance contributions were to be based on the existing funding formula, it would result in a shortfall exceeding £1m for the force. He urged the Home Office to “rapidly reconsider the way in which in-year adjustments to police funding are allocated.” Mr Scott issued a warning: “We are rapidly approaching the point where any savings we make will inevitably have an impact on front line policing, something the Chief Constable and I are strenuously trying to avoid.” He further added: “The cost pressure of these changes would be on top of our existing savings requirements over the next four years of £28m.” Mr Scott, who was re-elected as police and crime commissioner earlier this year, declared that “policing does not need to pay the price of this Government’s budget like pensioners and farmers will be.” He stressed the need for “urgent action to address the shortfall,” which he calculated would be equivalent to the salaries of 25 full-time police officers, and called for the Home Office to collaborate with PCCs to “make sure policing doesn’t have to make further cuts next year.” A Home Office spokesperson responded by stating: “Last week’s Budget delivers real increases in funding for policing.“ The spokesperson also added: “Further details on the allowance on national insurance contributions for public sector organisations will be provided in due course and force level allocations will be confirmed at the provisional police settlement in December.”