Overview

This bill aims to ensure adequate funding for police forces in England and Wales. It mandates the Secretary of State to consider specific factors when allocating grants, including police and crime plans and reports from an independent body assessing funding needs. The bill also establishes an independent body to annually review police grant adequacy.

Description

The Policing Resources Bill amends the Police Act 1996 to impose a duty on the Secretary of State to ensure police grant recipients have sufficient resources for crime prevention, prosecution of offenders, maintaining peace, and community protection. This duty considers:

• Police and crime plans
• Reports from an independent body evaluating funding adequacy (established by the 2019 Policing Resources Act)
• Contingency funding needs for major incidents.

The bill also creates a new independent body to annually review the adequacy of police grants, considering both general grants and those for national security. The reviews must assess compliance with the new resource requirements and the sufficiency of national security funding.

Government Spending

The bill does not directly specify an increase or decrease in government spending. Instead, it aims to ensure existing funding is allocated effectively and sufficiently, based on the reviews and assessments conducted by the independent body. No specific figures are provided in the bill itself.

Groups Affected

• Police forces in England and Wales: Directly affected by the changes in grant allocation and funding assessment. Potentially receive increased or better targeted funding.
• Police and Crime Commissioners: Their plans will directly influence grant allocations.
• The public: Potentially benefits from improved policing resources, leading to enhanced crime prevention, investigation, and community safety.
• The independent body: Responsible for reviewing and reporting on the adequacy of police funding.
• The Secretary of State: Given a new legal duty to ensure sufficient funding.

Powered by nyModel