§ 37. Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of police forces which have had a real-terms fall in funding in the current financial year after the cost of police pensions is taken into account. [103998]
§ Mr. StrawAllocations of Government funding to police authorities are made on the basis of a needs-based formula, which takes into account projected pensions expenditure. As with most formulae, variations can occur from year to year, with some authorities doing relatively better than others.
Police authority "budget requirements" will increase by 3.1 per cent. in this financial year. On the basis of estimates provided by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, the police service nationally could have an increase in net expenditure in this financial year of 5.9 per cent. taking account among other things of the use of reserves. It is for individual authorities to determine how best to manage their budgets. Prudent management of medical retirements can help police authorities to reduce pensions' costs and deploy more resources to front-line policing.