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Police Funding

15 December 2008

Since 1997, funding for policing in Surrey has gone up by only £2 per head, that's from £87 to £89, which is a real terms decrease of 24%. This is the third lowest level of per-head funding in the country despite the fact that Surrey contributes more taxes than any other county in the UK.

Humfrey Malins said "There is clearly a funding misbalance for Surrey Police in comparison to other counties. Of course I understand the view that Surrey is one of the wealthiest areas of the UK and therefore must contribute some of its taxes to the overall pot, so to speak. But I don't think that Surrey Police or the people of Woking and Surrey are getting a fair deal. It is not right to assess funding purely on the fact that Surrey has some very wealthy individuals. For example this does not take into account the costs that Surrey Police have in helping to police Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The extra funding is going to Sussex and the Met Police as the airports are just inside their geographical boundaries. This lack of central funding is going to force up our Council taxes and force cut backs in service. I am calling upon the Government for a fair deal for Surrey Police."