Police in the East Midlands will be given a boost to help tackle anti-social behaviour, restore neighbourhood policing and make our streets safer, the Home Secretary has announced.
As part of the government’s Plan for Change, next year all forces in the East Midlands will see a funding increase of at least 5% to help them tackle the priorities that matter in their areas.
This includes:
- £299 million for Nottinghamshire, a cash increase of 5.5%.
- £270 million for Leicestershire, a cash increase of 5.7%.
- £259 million for Derbyshire, a cash increase of 5.7%.
- £192 million for Northamptonshire, a cash increase of 5.8%.
- £173 million for Lincolnshire, a cash increase of 5.5%.
Nationally, the government is adding an additional billion pounds to bolster the policing system across the country, taking the total allocation of the provisional police settlement fund to up to £19.5 billion for England and Wales.
The majority of this funding – up to £17.4 billion, an increase of up to £987 million compared to last year – will be given to Police and Crime Commissioners and Mayors, allowing them to tackle crime in their communities, rid town centres of anti-social behaviour and apprehend persistent offenders.
This money will include:
- £339 million more for the police core grant to help forces with general running costs and to be allocated by forces to tackle local priorities. This is significantly more than the £184 million rise announced last year.
- An extra £230 million in funding to cover the costs arising from changes to National Insurance Contributions (NICs), which will help police balance their budgets.
- New funding of £100 million to kickstart the recruitment of 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers, community support officers and special constables, as announced by the Prime Minister earlier this month.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:
“Today’s settlement provides a substantial increase in funding for policing to help deliver on this government’s Safer Streets mission, fundamental to our Plan for Change. This vital funding boost will enable forces to kickstart the recruitment of neighbourhood police officers and crack down on the crimes blighting our high streets and town centres.
“We recognise the financial and operational challenges that police forces across the country have faced in recent years, and that is why we are providing a significant and much-needed increase in funding to help forces protect the public and keep our streets safe.
“We will also work closely with forces at a national and regional level to maximise efficiency and innovation, so that every penny they receive goes as far as possible and provides real value for the public.”
The provisional funding settlement will be central to the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change and will help to deliver the manifesto pledge that policing will be bolstered and reformed to deliver for communities.
The government will put an extra 13,000 police and community support officers into our neighbourhoods, and dedicated neighbourhood police officers, who are visible, named and contactable, will be put back on the streets to work closely with residents and businesses.
The settlement also comes after the Home Secretary announced a major package of police reform, including a new Police Performance Unit to track local performance and drive up standards, and a new National Centre of Policing to harness new technology and forensics.
Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said:
“We are determined to deliver for the people up and down this country and make good on our promise to reform policing, halve knife crime and tackle anti-social behaviour head on.
“This settlement aims to do just that, providing a significant and substantial increase in funding that will allow police forces to get a grip on criminality and make our streets and communities safer.”
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