This is South Wales -- THE commissioner of South Wales Police has launched a stinging attack on the way his force is funded from London. Alun Michael said the force had been "seriously disadvantaged" by the way cash is allocated, and called the annual redistribution from South Wales to the other three Welsh force — which this year has see it hand over £9 million to Dyfed-Powys, Gwent and North Wales — as "an absurd practice". The Home Office calculates how much money each force gets using a formula which looks at the size of the constabulary and the kind of area it covers. Recent years have seen policing grants slashed by 20 per cent as the Government seeks to reduce public spending. The current South Wales Police budget is some £258.5 million a year, with three quarters coming from London — directly or via the Welsh Government — and the rest from local residents through a precept on council tax bills. Mr Michael said: "For years, South Wales Police has been seriously disadvantaged in our funding — and next year will be no different. "Home Office funding is based on the outcomes of a formula, which takes account of different aspects of policing, including the size of the force, and the area it has to police. "But the system works in perverse and unexpected ways. "The Home Office also refuses to give additional funding to South Wales for policing Cardiff, our nation's capital city. "The challenges and costs of policing this are real and significant but it is not reflected in our funding. "This is something that I and the chief constable have raised with the Home Secretary and the Policing Minister on a number of occasions." He added: "I have been given assurances that this will be considered when the funding formula is reviewed but the earliest this will happen is 2016-17. Until then, our funding situation will get worse and worse." The commissioner said the problem was compounded by the fact that money allocated to South Wales under the formula was then reallocated to the other Welsh forces to ensure they do not fall below a set funding floor. Mr Michael said: "Instead of receiving the full amount the formula says we need to police South Wales appropriately, a significant amount is taken from us and re-allocated to the other three Welsh police forces to give them a minimum amount of funding. "This year, we have lost £9 million because of this absurd practice." The Evening Post asked the Home Office about Mr Michael's assertion that South Wales Police was being disadvantaged, and asked the department to explain why money was reallocated from South Wales to the other Welsh forces A Home Office spokeswoman said: "It is for chief constables and police and crime commissioners to ensure forces are delivering on the issues that matter in their areas. "Getting the economy back on track has meant a challenging funding settlement, but there is no question police will still have the resources to do their work. "Forces like South Wales have shown an ability to make savings while still cutting crime."
Reported by This is 13 hours ago.
This is South Wales -- THE commissioner of South Wales Police has launched a stinging attack on the way his force is funded from London. Alun Michael said the force had been "seriously disadvantaged" by the way cash is allocated, and called the annual redistribution from South Wales to the other three Welsh force — which this year has see it hand over £9 million to Dyfed-Powys, Gwent and North Wales — as "an absurd practice". The Home Office calculates how much money each force gets using a formula which looks at the size of the constabulary and the kind of area it covers. Recent years have seen policing grants slashed by 20 per cent as the Government seeks to reduce public spending. The current South Wales Police budget is some £258.5 million a year, with three quarters coming from London — directly or via the Welsh Government — and the rest from local residents through a precept on council tax bills. Mr Michael said: "For years, South Wales Police has been seriously disadvantaged in our funding — and next year will be no different. "Home Office funding is based on the outcomes of a formula, which takes account of different aspects of policing, including the size of the force, and the area it has to police. "But the system works in perverse and unexpected ways. "The Home Office also refuses to give additional funding to South Wales for policing Cardiff, our nation's capital city. "The challenges and costs of policing this are real and significant but it is not reflected in our funding. "This is something that I and the chief constable have raised with the Home Secretary and the Policing Minister on a number of occasions." He added: "I have been given assurances that this will be considered when the funding formula is reviewed but the earliest this will happen is 2016-17. Until then, our funding situation will get worse and worse." The commissioner said the problem was compounded by the fact that money allocated to South Wales under the formula was then reallocated to the other Welsh forces to ensure they do not fall below a set funding floor. Mr Michael said: "Instead of receiving the full amount the formula says we need to police South Wales appropriately, a significant amount is taken from us and re-allocated to the other three Welsh police forces to give them a minimum amount of funding. "This year, we have lost £9 million because of this absurd practice." The Evening Post asked the Home Office about Mr Michael's assertion that South Wales Police was being disadvantaged, and asked the department to explain why money was reallocated from South Wales to the other Welsh forces A Home Office spokeswoman said: "It is for chief constables and police and crime commissioners to ensure forces are delivering on the issues that matter in their areas. "Getting the economy back on track has meant a challenging funding settlement, but there is no question police will still have the resources to do their work. "Forces like South Wales have shown an ability to make savings while still cutting crime."
Reported by This is 13 hours ago.