Funding formula must be fairer

9 January 2020

ESSEX Police needs a fairer funding formula to ensure the force is properly resourced.

Essex Police Federation Chairman Steve Taylor was speaking after the police funding announcement – usually due in December – was delayed due to the General Election.

Steve said: “We are not asking for a major boost. What Essex needs is a fairer funding formula. It’s archaic the way it’s currently devised with a whole host of different measurements.

“Essex is growing as a county, the population is on the increase and the police budget needs to reflect that. It also needs to allow us to future-proof against future growth.

“It needs to be fairer, in Essex it needs to be bigger, and if we have to delay not just simply because of the election but if we have to delay to look at what our funding formula looks like, then let’s get that work done. Let’s make it fairer and more able to go across the whole country so we get our fair share of the cake.”

Last year, Priti Patel, speaking as MP for Witham before she was made Home Secretary, asked in Parliament what changes would be made to the police funding formula to ensure more cash would be made available for Essex Police. Then Police Minister Nick Hurd said the issue would be examined in the next spending review.