Judicial review launched over police funding

Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones has repeatedly claimed the force is one of the worst funded in the country

A Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has launched a judicial review against the Home Office over the way it calculates how much money is allocated to police forces.

Lincolnshire PCC Marc Jones has repeatedly claimed the force is one of the worst funded in the country per resident, saying the current formula relies on "outdated" population statistics and metrics.

During a regional police and crime panel meeting on Friday, he said: “The papers are lodged with the courts and the Home Office has until 12 August to respond to the paperwork that I’ve submitted."

The Home Office declined to comment citing ongoing legal proceedings.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Jones said: “There are a number of outcomes that are possible from that, but I would hope that the whole process leads to the kind of debate we need to get the national funding formula reviewed.”

He also highlighted the academic work being undertaken to examine how the force spends money and to ensure it was not "missing any tricks" when trying to save funds.

The Home Office previously said Lincolnshire Police’s funding was set to be increased by up to £9.2m in 2024-25

“The reality is, over the next few years, the gap is just too big," said Mr Jones, who was recently re-elected for his third term.

"If nothing changes, it will lead to a radical shift in the way policing is delivered in Lincolnshire.”

“This is nothing new,” he added.

“When I started back in 2016, Chief Constable Neil Rhodes was saying the same thing, so we’ve made some progress.”

Mr Jones estimated the force needed an additional £20m a year over the medium term to be sustainable, describing it as an “impossible hill to climb without massive changes to the way we do business".

He said he and the current chief constable, Paul Gibson, had requested meetings with ministers to further discuss the issue.

The Home Office previously said Lincolnshire's police funding would be "up to £164.3m in 2024-25" - an increase of up to £9.2 million on the year before.

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