The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A Government pledge to overhaul the funding formula for police forces has been welcomed in Lincolnshire.
The county’s chief constable Neil Rhodes and Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Hardwick met with Police Minister Mike Penning earlier this year to call for changes after fears the county’s force would soon be on the “edge of viability”.
They told Mr Penning that the county might have to lose the equivalent of 236 officers to meet a predicted £10.4m spending shortfall by 2017/18 due to the way funds were allocated to different forces across the country.
Last week Mr Penning announced details of plans to reform the system of allocating funding.
Following the announcement Mr Rhodes said: “Over recent months we have worked hard and constructively with Home Office officials to provide solutions to the challenge of police finance.
“The overall pot of money for policing is shrinking and it is more important than ever that funding is shared fairly.
“We will be working carefully through the government proposals to understand the implications for the police service in general and for Lincolnshire communities in particular.
“The new, proposed formula is population based and would appear to take cognisance of both socio-economic and environmental factors that affect policing demand.
“We recognise that, across the country, forces face different and sometimes complex policing challenges and have to manage different levels of threat, harm and risk.
“The new formula must cater adequately for those.
“However, particularly for smaller forces, the acid test will be whether the base cost of being in business is covered.
“Funding must be set at a level that sustains a decent quality of service to our communities and sensible transitional arrangement will be important.
“The timetable for consultation and subsequent implementation is tight, but we welcome the energy and drive for change and intend to fully play our part in the consultation process.”
In making the announcement Mr Penning described the current police funding model, the Police Allocation Formula (PAF), as “complex, opaque and out of date” and said he believed it should be replaced by a simplified model as soon as it is appropriate to do so.
He said the new system would enable funding to be provided sustainably to, and divided fairly between, Police and Crime Commissioners.
