Policing in England and Wales has been boosted by several years of “real terms” funding increases - but the Police Federation says “in crisis” forces are still operating on a “hand-to-mouth basis”. Home Office figures show that funding provided to police forces was consistently cut between 2010-11 and 2016-17, but has since increased every year, both nominally and in real terms.
That means the £1.5 billion package police forces across England and Wales will receive next year is nominally 31.3% higher than the £1.1bn it received in 2017-18. In order to better compare the figures, the Home Office has calculated how much the funding received five years ago would be worth at predicted 2022-23 prices.
That shows that even taking into account the rising cost of inflation, police forces will be better off than in 2017-18 - but by a more modest 14.8%. That includes an 8.8% rise in the amount forces receive directly from the government, while the precept - the police share of cash provided directly by council tax payers - will have increased by 28.5%.
