County gets extra £3M to put more bobbies on the beat

The government has announced it is doubling its neighbourhood policing funding pot from £100M to £200M for the coming financial year 2025/26.

The cash, which will be split between forces up and down the country, is intended to put more police community support officers (PCSOs) on local streets so all communities can have a named and contactable officer.

Leicestershire is set to receive £3M of that funding.

Leicestershire’s police and crime commissioner (PCC) Rupert Matthews has welcomed the extra money, saying neighbourhood policing is ‘at the heart of’ what the force does.

However, he has also warned it is not enough to bridge the gap between the funds available to Leicestershire Police and what it must spend to keep communities safe.

He has branded the government’s announcement a ‘very expensive, very attractive sticking plaster’.

Local residents can expect to see the amount of tax – known as the police precept – they pay to the force rise by the maximum amount – £14 – for the coming year. This would bring the amount paid by a Band D property to £300.23.

The PCC said the hike is necessary due to the ‘bleak picture’ of Leicestershire Police’s finances, adding without the rise “severe” service cuts would be needed to local policing.

Even with the new precept rate, the force has had to find around £8.2M in cuts and efficiencies for the coming year – and there is an additional £1.1M of savings still to be identified. Among the proposed cuts is a plan to axe 35 police roles.

The force has said the difficult financial position is a result of inflationary pressures, underfunded pay awards for staff, and legislative changes such as the new laws around XL Bully dogs increasing workloads.

Speaking on the additional neighbourhood policing allocation, Mr Matthews said it was a ‘small step in the right direction, but does not cover the gap between income and outgoings.

“We need more than this just to stand still,” he added.

The PCC also branded the cash a ‘short-term funding package’, saying it will have to be spent wisely to deliver ‘results that will last’.

He continued: “Neighbourhood Policing is at the very heart of policing. It is the single most important part of policing to most residents.”

Mr Matthews said he will be continuing to call for fairer funding for the force, which currently receives a government grant that is lower per head than the national average – and the 12th worst of all 43 regional forces in England and Wales.

Leicestershire Police will have a funding pot of around £272M for 2025/26. Of this, £167.8M will come from the government, up around £10M from the current year’s offering.

The remaining £104.2M is based on government assumptions that the force will raise its precept by the maximum amount in April.

Mr Matthews added: “This [neighbourhood policing funding] is a very expensive, very attractive sticking plaster, but it won’t solve the financial problems we face.”

Forces are expected to submit plans to the Government in the spring setting out how they will use the funding.