Government funding plan falls short, says Fed branch chair

20 December 2024

The proposed government funding for Suffolk Police falls short of what is needed and will put pressure on the Force to find savings, says Federation branch chair Darren Harris.

Darren called for an overhaul of the current system, describing it as ‘unfair on all levels’.

He argued that it is increasingly taking responsibility for funding police budgets away from the government and onto taxpayers.

And he repeated calls for a long-term funding model that would allow the Force to plan for the future.

Suffolk Police Federation chair Darren Harris.

Darren said: “Policing is still reeling from austerity, so the last thing it needs is for more underinvestment from the government.

“However, it looks like our chief officers may have to continue to look to find savings, just when we thought we would get some funding and investment in the service.

“It’s clear that the current funding system is outdated and not fit for purpose.

“Suffolk is a very rural county and there are additional costs associated with policing rural areas. Not only that, we’ve got a rapidly increasing population, and yet we have one of the smallest funding allocations in England and Wales.

“Increasingly, our Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has to raise the council tax precept to make up the shortfall, adding to the burden on the tax payer.

“It’s unfair on all levels.

Long-term funding

“As a Federation we’ve long called for an overhaul of the funding model that enables our chief officers to plan ahead and make long-term decisions.”

The Home Office has announced Suffolk Police will receive £181.3m in 2025/26, if the Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore increases the council tax precept by its maximum of £14.

It would mean that Suffolk Police’s funding will be made up of a government grant of £103.6m, and a council tax precept of £77.7m, with 43 per cent of the budget funded by council tax payers.

Suffolk Chief Constable Rachel Kearton has said that means the Force’s government grant has only increased by 3.2 per cent on 2024/25 and ‘is less than we would have wished for’.

She said: “It is not without trying that over the past few days, many chief constables, including myself, have been lobbying the Home Office for a fair and reasonable settlement.

“All forces have long called for a new funding model that would help forces to plan for the future and improve financial resilience.”

She added: “For us in Suffolk, as for all other forces, there are significant corporate cost pressures, and myself and the rest of the chief officers will reflect on this funding settlement, assessing at pace the implications for us and how we can address this deficit.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore.

PCC Passmore is currently consulting the new Police and Crime Plan and is inviting Suffolk residents to have their say on the direction of policing in the county over the next four years.

Click here to take part in the survey.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council has warned that forces face an estimated £1.3bn gap in their finances over the next two years.

Key issues nationally include the full-year effect of this year’s 4.75 per cent pay agreement; the increased costs of officers who joined during the Uplift programme and are progressing through the ranks; and how much of the 2025/26 pay recommendations for officers, PCSOs and police staff would be met by the Home Office.

Chief Constable Paul Sanford, the NPCC lead for finance, said: “The funding settlement presents real challenges for policing, with forces facing an estimated £1.3bn gap in finances over the next two years. This will inevitability lead to cuts across forces.”

Outdated funding model

He added: “Our current funding model is outdated and means that the funding announced today will not be evenly shared across forces, resulting in some forces facing significant deficits. As part of wider police reform, we have long called for a new funding model that would help forces to plan for the future and improve financial resilience.

“We continue to work with government to drive greater productivity and efficiency in our police service, however, without proper funding and investment, and with no resilience left in police budgets, efficiencies can only take us so far to meet these challenges.

“We reaffirm our commitment to work closely with government to improve policing, including through the forthcoming spending review.”

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