APCC briefing
Police finance: Central government funding
Briefing outline
This briefing provides an introduction to central government funding for policing with explicit
reference to current and future Comprehensive Spending Reviews. This is the first of three briefings
about police finance.
Why is finance important to policing and to the role of the PCC?
Almost every aspect of the service can be expressed in a financial context. It is the link between
plans, targets and delivery; a measure of activity and performance; a basis for engaging with the
government; and locally it will be one of the principal ways by which the Police and Crime
Commissioner (PCC) holds the Chief Constable (CC) to account, and is held to account personally by
the public and the media.
How much is allocated to policing and how is it apportioned locally?
Nearly £13 billion a year is currently spent on Policing in England and Wales, including £650m capital.
While it is a local service, the majority of the funding is provided by central government, which also
spends money directly through national programmes. Just over 50% of policing budgets is spent on
Police Officer and PCSO salaries, and typically a further 20% on support staff. In terms of
programmes, typically nearly 40% of costs relate to local policing and dealing with the public, and
20% is spent on support costs.
How does the government ‘manage’ public sector spending?
For the last 15 years, public sector spending has been managed through the Comprehensive
Spending Review (CSR) process, overseen by the Treasury. Technically this only covers central
government’s grant to local bodies, but the parallel regimes for Council Tax limitation have meant
that the government exerts a high degree of control over total local spending.
The CSR is normally a 3 year rolling process, with the 3rd/1st years of successive CSRs overlapping.
We are currently operating within the 10th CSR (also known as “CSR 10”) which ends in 2014/15 and
initial discussions on guidelines for the next CSR “CSR 11” are now commencing.
What are the projections in the current CSR and what does this mean for policing?
CSR10 projected an average 19% cut in government budgets by 2014/15, equivalent to a 12.7% real
terms reduction over 4 years. Some national programmes such as Health and Education were
protected, but total Home Office spending was cut by 23% in real terms. The planned reduction in
local police spending was limited to 14% in real terms by 2014/15, but this was partly achieved by
assuming annual growth in Council Tax.
What do we know about grant funding for 2013/14?
Indicative figures for 2013/14 were announced in September 2012. These point to a 1.9% reduction
in grant funding. The final figures will not be announced until 12 December, 2012, and the individual
allocations could change dependant on ministerial decisions about damping (see later explanation, in
Finance, Part 2) and the amount of funding transferred into the main grant settlement for
Neighbourhood Policing, which until 2012/13 has been paid as a specific grant.
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APCC, 10 Dean Farrar Street, London SW1H 0DX
T 020 7202 0080 E [email protected] @AssocPCCs www.apccs.police.uk
The APCC provides support to all Police and Crime Commissioners and policing governance bodies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Police finance: Central government funding
Need more information?
APCC briefing: Police finance - The local corporate financial process
http://www.apccs.police.uk/page/PCC%20Guidance
APCC briefing: Police finance - Grants and other sources of policing income
http://www.apccs.police.uk/page/PCC%20Guidance
Date produced: November 2012
APCC, 10 Dean Farrar Street, London SW1H 0DX
T 020 7202 0082 E [email protected] @AssocPCCs www.apccs.police.uk
The APCC provides support to all Police and Crime Commissioners and policing governance bodies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
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