Police funding review labelled a ‘shambles’
THE police funding review has been labelled a “shambles” after serious errors resulted in forces being told they would be allocated more money when they are actually facing cuts.
An independent panel of accounting firms and financial experts should be appointed to help the Home Office sort out the funding formula, according to the Commons Home Affairs Committee.
Home Office ministers were forced to call a halt to the reform of the formula in November, and Keith Vaz, the chair of the committee, said the pause was necessary because the errors made had “gravely damaged” the police’s confidence in the process.
“The current police funding formula has become unfit for purpose, and this review was welcome,” he said.
“Instead of designing a process which truly engaged the police and crime commissioners, they were shut out, with the Home Office denying them access to data and giving them an impossibly short amount of time to submit evidence. Police forces found themselves on a roller coaster, where at the stroke of a pen they saw their funding allocation plummet in some cases and rise meteorically in others, with nobody able to explain why. It would be charitable to call it a shambles.”
A committee spokesman said the Home Office must recognise the full range of factors which drive demand on the police, including specific local demands created by tourist areas, emerging crimes such as cyber crime, and counter-terrorism resources – which are “particularly important” since the Paris attacks on November 13.
They added that the committee does not support the idea of local communities “crowdfunding” extra police forces for their areas because of the disadvantage this would create for poorer communities.
Chancellor George Osborne revealed in the Autumn Statement there would be no cuts to the police budget, and Mr Vaz said this provides the Home Office with a “real opportunity”.
He said: “The Chancellor’s announcement to protect overall police funding in the Spending Review was welcome, which taken with the minister’s decision to suspend the review provides a real opportunity.”