On Tuesday (17 December), the policing minister Diana Johnson MP, announced the revised funding settlement for police services. This confirmed an uplift in funding for all police services across England and Wales for 2025/26.
Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, John Tizard, welcomed the announcement and the indication of a more positive trajectory for police funding for Bedfordshire.
The PCC said “I welcome the overall increases after over a decade of austerity and underfunding of policing nationally and in Bedfordshire which was never going to be addressed in the first year of a new government.
“A fundamental reform of police funding is essential.”
The PCC, with the Chief Constable, will be spending the coming days analysing what the settlement will mean for Bedfordshire Police. They also await the government’s decisions on special grants which help the police service to tackle gun and serious and organised crime. These grants represent five percent of the total budget.
Looking to the coming year’s finances, the PCC said “the budget will be tight, and we face some difficult choices. This will include increasing the police element of council tax in line with the government’s cap to ensure that we can maintain critical police services. It may also require some changes to departmental budgets.
“Once we have hopefully secured the special grants for Bedfordshire, the Chief Constable and I will design a budget that offers value for money.
“I am committed to protecting frontline services and protecting the public.
“I aim to reinvigorate local policing to match and go beyond the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, as resources allow. But we need to invest in all areas of policing – not just local policing, to equip our police service to make Bedfordshire safer.”
Earlier this year, John Tizard launched his Police and Crime Plan which outlines six missions for a safer and fairer Bedfordshire. These missions closely align to those set out by the policing minister’s financial settlement.
The PCC will be launching a consultation on the police element of the council tax in Bedfordshire in the coming days. For more information, keep an eye on our website and social media channels.