Reform of the Police Funding Formula scrutinised

• Watch Parliament TV: Reform of the Police Funding Formula
• Inquiry: Reform of the Police Funding Formula 
• Home Affairs Committee

Tuesday 10 November 2015, Thatcher Room, Portcullis House

At 2.45pm

• Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, Metropolitan Police Commissioner
• Stephen Greenhalgh, Deputy Mayor of London 

At 3.30pm

• Sir Thomas Winsor, Chief Inspector of Constabulary
• Mike Cunningham QPM, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary

Chair's comments

Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Chair of the Committee, said:

"With police forces across the country facing cuts of 25 to 40% under reforms to the funding formula, we want to explore what services will be prioritised, what services will have to be cut and what the impact will be on front line police numbers on the ground. The new funding formula is based on the idea that forces understand the drivers of, and demand for, their services, but it is not clear that all forces do have a good understanding of this. Obviously these factors will vary dramatically across urban and rural forces, or forces in different regions. The funding formula must be designed to reflect this.

It is critical that the changes encourage delivery of Government objectives in crime reduction while minimising the "perverse incentives" that have seen underreporting or re-categorising of crimes in the past. We look forward to continuing to question those that will be dealing with the impact of these changes directly, and other officials who will assess the impact of these changes, and further the debate on how to reform the funding formula in a way that is fair – and effective – for all forces across England and Wales."

Further information

• About Parliament: Select committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees

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