- Government is increasing funding for policing to more than £15 billion in 2021-22, up by £636 million from this year.
- Wiltshire is set to receive an additional £7.3 million as part of this settlement
- Funding will be used to increase police officer numbers and keep communities safe.
Wiltshire Police is set to receive an additional £7.3 million in its funding next year, thanks to the Conservative Government’s increase to police budgets.
Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced policing will receive up to £15.8 billion in 2021-22 – an increase of £636 million on last year.
This includes over £400 million to recruit 20,000 extra police officers by 2023, delivering on the promise made by the Conservatives in last year’s General Election. Wiltshire Police has already benefited from an additional 17 officers.
The funding will be also be used to bolster counter-terrorism policing, including money for armed policing and more officers.
The Conservative Government has been determined to support the police throughout the coronavirus pandemic, as officers have worked tirelessly to keep communities safe. The Government has provided £30 million to help forces step up coronavirus enforcement and has reimbursed forces for all additional PPE purchased between March and July.
Commenting, South Swindon MP Robert Buckland and North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson said:
“Officers and staff at Wiltshire Police have been instrumental in keeping our community safe this year, and we pay tribute to them for their hard work and professionalism.
“We are delighted to see Wiltshire Police are getting an additional £7.3 million next year. We were both proud to be elected last year on a promise to get more officers onto the streets and to ensure our police have what they need to keep us safe.
“This Conservative Government is now doing exactly that – ensuring we build back safer as we recover from coronavirus.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel said:
“We have asked more of the police than ever before during the coronavirus pandemic – the British people and I are extremely grateful for their dedication.
“I am absolutely committed to giving the police the resources they need – this funding package delivers on that.
“It will allow us to continue to put more police on the streets, and reduce crime as we build back safer from the pandemic.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
- Increasing police funding to more than £15 billion on 2021-22, delivering more officers and keeping our communities safe. Policing will receive up to £15.8 billion in 2021-22 – an increase of up to £636 million on last year. Alongside getting more officers out on the streets, the funding will help to tackle serious violence and increase the number of specialist officers tackling terrorism and serious organised crime such as child abuse and drug trafficking (Home Office, News Story, 17 December 2020, link).
- Providing £400 million to continue delivering on our promise to recruit 20,000 extra police officers by 2023. As part of the £15 billion for policing in 2021-22, we will provide more than £400 million to continue recruiting more officers. We have already delivered almost 6,000 additional police officers (Home Office, News Story, 17 December 2020, link).
- Ensuring the police have the resources they need to keep our country safe from terrorism. Funding for counter-terrorism policing will total up to £914 million next year, including money for armed policing and more officers. In addition, counter-terrorism policing will receive £32 million to establish a new Counter-Terrorism Operations Centre to keep the country safe from a range of threats (Home Office, News Story, 17 December 2020, link).
- Ensuring the police have the funding and support they need through the coronavirus pandemic, as they work to keep our communities safe. We have provided an additional £30 million to help forces step up coronavirus enforcement activities in 2020-21, and have reimbursed the cost of all additional PPE purchased between March and July (Home Office, News Story, 17 December 2020, link).
The Conservatives are supporting the police:
- Putting a record number of officers onto our streets, to help cut crime and keep us safe. In total since November 2019, 12,675 new officers have joined forces across England and Wales. 5,824 of these were specifically recruited as part of the uplift programme, with the rest recruited to backfill leavers or through locally funded recruitment. There is now a total headcount of 134,885 officers across forces in England and Wales (Home Office, News Story, 29 October 2020, link).
- Enshrining a new police covenant into law, enhancing support and protection for our frontline police officers. The initial focus of the covenant will be on physical protection, health and wellbeing, as well as support for families. It will also create a statutory duty for the Government to do more to support the police, both those currently serving and retired (Home Office, News Story, 8 September 2020, link).
- Toughening up sentences for assaulting emergency workers, recognising the debt of gratitude the public feels towards them. In line with our manifesto commitment, we are bringing forward legislation to double the maximum sentence for those convicted of assaults on frontline staff including police officers, firefighters and paramedics (MoJ, Press Release, 13 July 2020, link).
- Equipping over 8,000 more officers with Taser devices, ensuring they have the resources they need to keep themselves safe. We have delivered £6.7 million for 41 forces to purchase 8,155 Taser devices, and allocated £150,000 to train up Taser instructors. We have also approved a new Taser 7 model for use, which is more accurate, faster and compact (Home Office, News Story, 24 August 2020, link).
