Increasing police productivity

Total police funding in 2025-26 is £19.6bn, with approx. 70% of this made up of central government funding and the rest raised through council tax. Government is aiming to put 13,000 additional police officers, police community support officers and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles, paid for by tackling waste through a programme of reform. This includes plans to centralise functions such as procurement and vetting, and greater use of technology to make officers more productive. The PAC’s 2018 report on the financial sustainability of police forces in England and Wales warned that financial pressures were undermining confidence in the police, which the report found had been severely dented as forces reprioritised work in response to funding cuts. The Committee’s subsequent 2022 report highlighted significant challenges for the Home Office in realising a promised uplift in police numbers. The National Audit Office (NAO) reports in 2025 on police productivity, with a fo