Background
In 2025-26, total police funding is £19.6 billion, made up of £13.6 billion from central government and £6 billion raised through the precept (council tax). Our previous work (published in 2015 and 2018) explored the financial pressures facing the police and highlighted that the Home Office did not have a systematic approach to ensuring police forces were financially sustainable.
As part of its Safer Streets mission, the government will deliver the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee and put 13,000 additional police officers, police community support officers (PCSOs) and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles. The government plans to pay for these recruits by tackling waste and the mission includes a programme of police reform – to raise standards, harness technology, increase efficiency and improve accountability. To support this, the Home Office is taking a more active role in working with police leaders to drive improvements and ensure policing is set up to succeed.
Scope
This audit will focus on the Home Office’s approach to supporting police forces to improve their productivity. It will examine how the Home Office is working with police forces to:
- set out a clear vision of how policing will become more efficient and productive based on a thorough understanding of the financial and operational resilience of the police
- develop a deliverable plan for achieving desired outcomes
- address the barriers to improving police efficiency and productivity
NAO team
Director: Oliver Lodge
Senior Audit Manager: Richard Baynham