A statement issued on 19th December by David Sidwick, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, reveals that Dorset Police will be faced with a shortfall in excess of £6m.
Mr Sidwick calls on Dorset’s MPs to recognise the severity of this situation and work with him to address with Government its unfair treatment of Dorset.
The full statement reads as follows:
“Following a detailed assessment of the funding settlement for Dorset Police, I am deeply disappointed by the position this leaves the Force and it goes no way to meeting the financial gap faced by Dorset Police.
The pay increments and pay rise rightly deserved by officers and staff are set to cost the Force £9m next year, but the Government has awarded us just £2.8m towards these costs.
This is worsened by the £5m of other inflationary pressures, which further exacerbates the significant budgetary pressures.
The budget announcement assumes I, as Dorset’s Police and Crime Commissioner, will raise the council tax precept by the maximum allowed – £14 for a band D household – which, along with increases in the number of people paying council tax, would generate an extra £7.9m for the Force.
Even if the precept is increased – and there is a consultation currently ongoing – the Force will still need to find £4.6m in savings in order to deliver a balanced budget next year.
This poor settlement puts further pressure on Dorset Police’s workforce, especially given the loss of 79 members of police staff earlier this year as part of the voluntary resignation scheme to help reduce costs.
Ensuring these vacancies are maintained will save the Force around £2.6m next year towards this savings requirement but means more demand on those remaining police staff and officers with increased workloads.
Regarding the neighbourhood policing initiative, Dorset will receive £800,000 of the £100m national investment. Yet again this is funded under the National Funding Formula and so those forces that have had an advantage for years gain more and those forces like Dorset who are disadvantaged get less.
To say this funding settlement puts the Force in a difficult position is an understatement. It demonstrates why I have been so vociferous in lobbying for the vital change in the funding formula.
Yet again Dorset Police and the residents of this county are the victims of this outdated and unfair system, which needs changing and quickly as the quality of service we currently offer is under threat.
Work is already taking place between my Office and the Force alongside our partners to minimise the impact on our communities but the road ahead will be difficult unless this unfairness is urgently addressed.
I call on all Dorset’s MPs to recognise the severity of this situation and work with me to address with Government how unfairly our county is being treated.”
David Sidwick