Written Statement: Final Police Settlement 2022-23

I am today laying before the Senedd the Local Government Finance Report (No.2) 2022-23 (Final Settlement – Police and Crime Commissioners). This sets out the Welsh Government’s component of the Final Police Settlement for police forces in Wales for 2022-23. Today’s announcement made by the Home Office publishes the final Police Grant allocations for policing bodies in England and Wales, to ensure that Police and Crime Commissioners are able to set precepts by 1 March.

Policing policy is not devolved and funding for the four Welsh police forces is delivered through a three-way arrangement involving the Home Office, the Welsh Government and council tax. For 2022-2023 the total core support for police forces in Wales will be £432.4 million.

A common needs-based formula, operated by the Home Office, is used to distribute funding across English and Welsh police forces, and the approach to setting and distributing the Welsh Government’s component of police funding provision is based on a principle of ensuring consistency and fairness across England and Wales.

The Home Office has taken the decision to transfer funding for Special Branch out of the Police Main Grant to the Counter-Terrorism Policing Grant, in line with 2021-22 budget. As the total amount being transferred is based on forces’ 2021-22 budget and will remain at that for 2022-23, the transfer will have a zero net impact for police forces.

As in previous years, the Home Office has overlaid its needs-based formula with a floor mechanism. This ensures all police forces in England and Wales can expect to receive an increase in core funding of 5.9% for 2022-23, before the adjustment made for the transfer of Special Branch funding, when compared with 2021-22.

Following consultation, the figures for the final police settlement remain as I set out in my statement on 16 December on the provisional police settlement.  As I set out in that statement, in 2022-23, the balance of funding between the Home Office and the Welsh Government will change. The overall level of funding the police receive will not decrease but the proportion of direct Home Office funding will increase. This is purely an administrative change and will not result in any change in overall funding for any police force.

I propose to set the Welsh Government’s contribution to police funding for 2022-23 at £113.47 million. The floor funding is provided by the Home Office. The figures are summarised in Tables 1 to 3 of this Statement.

The Local Government Finance Report (No.2) 2022-23 is scheduled for debate in the Senedd on 15 February.

Police settlement: final 2022 to 2023

Police Revenue Funding

Notes:

[1] Since the 2015 Comprehensive Spending Review, the Home Office has made an annual transfer of funding to the Welsh Government in order for the Welsh Government to deliver its agreed contribution to police funding in Wales. From 2022-23 onwards, this additional funding will no longer be transferred and will, instead, be delivered by the Home Office through the Police Grant and Top Up Grant. This will result in the Welsh Government contribution to policing reducing by £29.93 million. This is purely an administrative change and will not result in any change in overall funding for any Police Force.

[2] This is the amount of police grant set out in section 3 of the Police Grant Report which includes the allocation under 'Principal Formula' and 'Add Rule 1' (columns a and b) plus the amount 'floor funding' that the Home Office has made available.

[3] Figures for 2022-23 are shown before the adjustment made for the transfer of Special Branch funding, as outlined in paragraph 4.8 of the Police Grant Report.