At a meeting with the police and crime panel last night, the Police and Crime Commissioner, John Tizard announced that for coming the financial year 2025/26, Bedfordshire Police will spend £158m to keep Bedfordshire residents and businesses safe.

John said: “I am responsible for agreeing the police budget and setting the council tax which in part funds it.

“The Government funds just under 60% and the council taxpayers fund the remaining 40%.

“After fourteen years of austerity and underfunding the new government has increased our core grant by 6.6%.

“No government could have rectified a decade plus of underfunding in one year but Yvette Cooper, Home Secretary has signalled a new commitment to work with PCCs and to increase funding.

“I am delighted that the government has allocated Bedfordshire an additional £1.8m under its Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee to fund extra police officers and PCSOs to strengthen local policing. This will be welcomed across the county.

“I am working with the Chief Constable to see how quickly and how many officers will be allocated to local policing teams in accordance with demands on Bedfordshire Police and the government rules for the use of the new funding.”

This funding is the first instalment of Bedfordshire’s share of the 13,000 officers the government will fund over the next four years under its Safer Streets Mission.

John further commented: “The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee aligns with my mission to reinvigorate local policing in our county. This mission is about more than officer numbers, but these new officers will make a difference.”

The PCC is increasing the police element of the council tax by 5.3% in line with government funding expectations and cap as well the vast majority of PCCs across the country. Any smaller increase would have resulted in harmful cuts and reductions in future years’ government grants.

Bedfordshire is still waiting for a decision on the special grants for tackling serious organised gang crime from the government. These represent 5% of total spend and are additional to the numbers quoted here.

He continued: “My partnership with the government is already producing benefits for Bedfordshire. I have and will continue to make the case for additional government funding to minister.

“The Bedfordshire police budget is aligned with the Police and Crime Plan which I launched last October. It also enables the Chief Constable to deliver the police service’s strategic objectives and the national policing objectives set by government.”

At the meeting, the panel heard about the many competing demands for limited police resources, and the need for flexibility to deploy resources as is operationally necessary.

The PCC said that he had rigorously scrutinised the budget plan and that every line had been reviewed to ensure that to eliminate inefficiencies and to secure value for money. He committed to invest in measures to improve productivity.

He recognised that even after the reviews and with the additional funding from the government and the increased council tax, there is a need for some cuts of just over £2m. The PCC has ben assured that these cuts will have minimal effect directly on the public.

He continued: “My role is strategic and not operational.

“I hold the Chief Constable responsible for managing the budget effectively and efficiently. Each month I review both financial and operational performance rigorously.

“I am determined to improve productivity and have required that every budget line can be justified to prove value for money and public benefit.

“In 2025/26, Bedfordshire police will spend £35m on local policing including response patrol and community policing; £15.5 on public protection services including the specialist domestic abuse, child protection and rape and serious sexual offences teams; £42m on tackling serious and organised crime and other crime including Bedfordshire’s contribution to the Eastern Regional Serious Organised Crime Unit; and much more.

“Bedfordshire Police collaborates with neighbouring police services in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire for specialist services such as armed policing, traffic policing, forensics, and major crime investigations as well as some support services.

“As I often say, policing alone cannot prevent or tackle crime. We must address the causes of crime with a multi-agency approach.

“Wherever possible the police should share resources with public sector partners and work together to budget effectively.

“We all know that public service budgets and resources are tight for every police force, but this cannot be an excuse for underperformance.”