Police and crime commissioner calls for end to region being 'short changed' £43m annually

West Midlands Police boss Simon Foster has called for an end to a “hopelessly out of date” funding system ahead of the Autumn Budget.

The Police and Crime Commissioner told an Accountability and Governance Board meeting the force continues to be “short changed and ripped off” in the resources allocated by the Government.

Mr Foster has repeatedly raised the issue of the formula used to fund police forces across the UK and said it leaves the West Midlands disadvantaged compared with other areas which experience lesser crime levels.

At the meeting on Tuesday (October 27), he called on the chancellor to change the system ahead of the budget on Wednesday, October 28.

He said: “For far too long, the people and communities of the West Midlands have been forced to pay the price for a police funding allocation that is hopelessly out of date, unfit for purpose and deeply unjust.

“We are being short-changed and ripped off by £43 million every single year because the government distributes funding based on outdated criteria rather than crime levels, demand and need.

“The rollout of the funding allocation under the previous government was frozen at a point that levelling up would have actually begun to take resource away from lower crime rural areas and move it to higher demand urban areas that need it more.

“Now that we have a new government, this is the time to reconsider how we can allocate funding to where it is needed most.

“We have proven in the West Midlands that we take good financial decisions, investing money wisely when we have it.

“This good track record should give government comfort that we can make a real difference if we are fairly funded.

“We have worked incredibly hard regionally to rebuild our neighbourhood policing teams, putting 351 extra officers into neighbourhoods this year to protect our people, families, businesses, and communities.

“However, we continue to be held back because successive governments fail to distribute police funding fairly.

“That is why I’m calling on the Chancellor to use this Autumn Budget to end this unfair postcode lottery once and for all and provide West Midlands Police with the fair funding deal it desperately needs to keep people, families, businesses and communities safe and secure.”