By Vivienne Russell
28 January 2010
Police authorities should not continue to be subject to the council tax capping regime, MPs have said.
A report published this week by the Commons home affairs select committee also recommended a review of the national police grant allocation system. Through this system, half of forces receive less money than the nominal funding formula entitles them to.
A number of police authorities have had their budgets capped in recent years after proposing precept increases of more than 5%.
Committee chair Keith Vaz said: ‘Forces need more say in raising their own funding. They are, after all, providing a local service at local level and are best placed to determine where and what resources are needed.’
The committee praised police forces for their commitment to maintain frontline services, but also urged them to ‘radically rethink’ the way they provide back-office functions. This would be necessary to cope with looming funding cuts.
Central government should play its part in helping forces find further savings. Such efficiencies might include the involvement of the private sector or forces merging, the MPs suggested.
A spokesman for the Association of Police Authorities said: ‘The police service is already a leader in delivering efficiency gains in the public sector, having exceeded its efficiency targets consistently for many years. Police authorities want to make sure this continues.’
Police minister David Hanson commented: ‘We must ensure we get value for money and that is why we set out savings opportunities for the police service in the white paper. By working smarter and working together, forces can deliver even more for the money they receive.’
