Police force facing £17m budget gap by 2027

Chief Constable Paul Gibson has acknowledged Lincolnshire Police is in a "unique position" in terms of finance and resource

Lincolnshire Police is calling for more government funding after revealing it is facing a £17m gap in its budget.

In its annual report, the force said there was a deficit of £9.2m this year, which had been covered by reserves.

"This underlying gap grows to circa £17m per year over the next three years as income remains well below the prevailing rate of inflation and service pressures," it added.

A Home Office spokesperson said funding beyond 2024-25 was subject to a future spending review. However, they added the new government "remains committed to ensuring that the police have the resources they need to tackle crime effectively".

The spokesperson added: "This government has committed to delivering 13,000 new neighbourhood police and community support officers, tackle ASB and introduce tougher powers to tackle repeat offending, to support areas like Lincolnshire."

In January, the force's previous chief constable, Chris Haward, claimed that Lincolnshire was "the lowest funded force in the UK".

Last month, Marc Jones, the police and crime commissioner (PCC), said the force needed an additional £15m from government and argued that the funding formula was based on outdated population figures.

'Structural underfunding'

The annual report said that, as well as identifying savings to balance the budget, the force would provide evidence to "demonstrate and quantify the structural underfunding of Lincolnshire Police, compared to forces across England and Wales".

The report added that senior officers and the police and crime commissioner would lobby the government to review the funding formula to get "a fair settlement for the delivery of policing to Lincolnshire communities".

In a forward to the report, Chief Constable Paul Gibson set out his ambition to "create an outstanding local police service", but acknowledged that the plan considered "the fluid nature of the unique position we find ourselves here in Lincolnshire in terms of finance and resource".

Follow BBC Lincolnshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail]