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Yesterday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the first Labour Budget since 2010, promising to protect public services, restore economic stability and begin a decade of national renewal.
And while there was very little in the way of announcements for ambulance and fire services, updates that impact policing did feature.
First and foremost, it is good to see that the Chancellor upheld many of the pledges made in Labour’s election manifesto earlier this year.
Indeed, the Chancellor outlined continued investment to support frontline policing levels across the country, which will see more neighbourhood police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) on the streets.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland will see funding for its Additional Security Fund increase to £37.8m, while an additional £8m has been confirmed for the Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime, to ensure that people and communities are kept safe from violence and harm.
It was also announced that HM Treasury will work with the Home Office through Phase 2 of the Spending Review to drive police efficiencies and improve overall police productivity in England. The government says this will end wasteful contracts and enable officers to spend more time on the frontline tackling crime.
As a result, the government says this will put it on track to start to deliver its manifesto pledge to boost visible neighbourhood policing with 13,000 more neighbourhood officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). This will form part of a wider police reform package to rebuild confidence in policing.
Finally, the Home Office settlement will also support the government’s priorities to tackle violence against women and girls, as well as knife crime. This includes implementing Raneem’s Law, which will see domestic abuse specialists embedded in control rooms and establishing trailblazer Young Futures Hubs to prevent young people being drawn into crime.
“We appreciate the increase in public sector funding and the commitment to start investment in thousands of additional neighbourhood police officers and staff to support the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. However, the rise in employer National Insurance contributions will impact unevenly on policing budgets because it is applied to separate force areas’ funding formula.
Roger Hirst and Joy Allen, Association of Police and Crime Commissioner’s Finance Leads
“We note the pledge to increase in real terms the Ministry of Justice’s budget. PCCs chair their local Criminal Justice Boards and have a key role working with partners to divert and rehabilitate offenders in the community, so we look forward to seeing the detail behind today’s headline announcements.”
The full Autumn Budget 2024 (HTML version) can be accessed here.
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