Surrey Police funding is unfair, says crime commissioner

Surrey PCC Lisa Townsend said in a letter to the government that the way funding was allocated was unfair

Surrey's police and crime commissioner has said the allocation of government funding for police is "unfair".

Lisa Townsend said the Surrey force gets "proportionately the lowest level" of grant in the country to cover its costs.

She made the comments in a letter to the government after funding was announced last month.

The Home Office said its priority was to allocate funding in a "fair and transparent manner".

In December's funding announcement, the government said police forces in England and Wales would receive £18.4bn, an increase of £922m on the previous year.

Surrey's funding will be almost £309m in 2024-25 an increase of up to £17.3m on the previous year but Ms Townsend says the nature of the formula grant system means the money allocated to Surrey covers just 45% of the total budget whereas other areas such as Northumbria get 80%.

'Robust formula'

In her letter, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Ms Townsend complained that funds were not allocated in proportion to a police force's costs, such as headcount and payroll.

In autumn 2021, the government announced a review into how funding was distributed, which it said remained ongoing.

Ms Townsend continued: "This model is outdated and remains unfair to the residents of Surrey. 

"We receive proportionately the lowest level of formula grant in the country meaning we will receive a smaller grant to cover the pay costs compared to other forces."

A Home Office spokesperson said:  "Our priority is to deliver a robust formula that allocates funding in a fair and transparent manner, ensuring that police have the resources they need.

 "We have engaged closely with the policing sector on an evidence-based assessment of policing demand, and the impact of local factors on forces. This work remains ongoing."

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