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The UK government has announced that police forces across England and Wales could receive up to £17.4bn in funding in the fiscal year 2025-2026, which marks a 3.5% increase (£986.9m) from the previous year. However, the increase is heavily dependent on police and crime commissioners adding £14 to the council tax of an average band D property, meaning around a third of the raise is on the residents of those regions serviced by the police forces. Home Office Minister Diana Johnson explained that the provisional settlement aims to balance funding for police forces and protecting taxpayers.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp criticised the government’s National Insurance increase for employers, noting that it has left police forces facing reductions of 3,500 front-line police officers. The Liberal Democrats’ home affairs spokesperson Lisa Smart agreed, stating that the increase will pass the burden of funding to local police chiefs from taxpayers.
Andy Cooke, chief inspector of constabulary, said that the current police funding formula is outdated and that council tax increases only benefit richer areas, leaving poorer regions with insufficient funding. One-year funding settlements also contribute to the difficulty of planning new initiatives and long-term projects for police forces.
Minister Diana Johnson also revealed that £230.3m of the additional funding will cover recent pay raises and compensate the police for higher employer taxes, announced in the Budget. She added that there is also £100m funding to recruit an additional 13,000 neighbourhood police promised by the Labour government, with the remaining £657.1m consisting of an increase in government grants. Johnson also intends to change the rules and increase firearms licensing fees, though she will wait for parliamentary time to allow her to put this into action.
Of the newly offered £986.9m, it is expected that £329.8m will come from council tax increases. Police and crime commissioners have the right to increase council tax by up to £14 for every band D property, which covers 39 electoral areas in England and Wales without triggering a local referendum. Notably, there have been concerns that police officer numbers may be cut if the government does not cover the cost of pay rises and higher employer taxes. Some police forces are questioning if the funding boost will continue into future years, with several indicating that they require substantial increases in funding to maintain current operations
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