The Force could be in line for a £11 million funding boost.
It comes after the Government gave a £1.1 billion injection into policing, the biggest increase for a decade, as long as Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) take full advantage of flexibility to set the police precept.
This would take the funding available for policing for 2020 to 2021 to £15.2 billion and would increase the Force’s funding from £144.7 million in 2019/20 to £155.7 million in 2020/21.
“This increase in funding could give policing the reinvestment it needs to get back on its feet after years of chronic under-funding,” says Liz Groom, chair of Cambridgeshire Police Federation, “During the years of police funding cuts, we have watched the police service decimated. Police officers have done their best to maintain effective policing services for their communities but it has put them under immense pressure; pressure which has, at times, led them to suffering stress and mental ill-health.
“Officer numbers have declined to such an extent that the thin blue line has just got thinner and thinner. We welcome this investment, it will make a real difference to policing, to police officers and the public we serve.
“But, coupled with this short-term cash boost, we also need the Government to come up with details for long-term police funding settlements, these one-year fixes do not help the police service to come up with sustainable plans to best the needs of our communities.”
National Federation chair John Apter has also welcomed the settlement but said it was unfair that the Government had passed the buck to PCCs and local tax payers. He also re-iterated calls for the Government to urgently address the funding formula.
The settlement includes the £750m announced by the Chancellor last year to enable forces to meet their recruitment targets as part of the Government’s three-year plan to take on 20,000 new officers.
The funding will provide £150m to fight organised crime and continue to crack down on online child abuse. Tackling serious violence will be also backed with £39m, which includes £20m for county lines drug dealing.
As announced by the Home Secretary on Tuesday, funding for counter-terrorism policing will total £906m in 2020 to 2021, a year-on-year increase of £90m.
PCCs will have access to:
- £8,702m in Government grants, £667m more than the previous year
- Flexibility to increase local funding in England by setting the council tax referendum limit to £10 for a typical (Band D) property.