South Wales Police Authority has a duty to carry out consultation with the public every year about our budget proposals. We want to know what your views are on our funding, and the possible increases to the policing element of the council tax.
The information below provides some information on South Wales Police and our financial situation. It should be read before answering the questionnaire. Once you have answered the questions, please click on the link below and complete the survey.
Click here to take survey
The questionnaire must be completed by Friday 5 February 2010.
The results will be given to South Wales Police Authority Members at the budget setting meeting on 15 February 2010, and will have a direct influence on its outcome.
Your Local Policing Service
This is a brief introduction to South Wales Police, and what our officers and staff deal with each year. We cover the seven local authority areas of Bridgend, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath Port Talbot, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea and the Vale of Glamorgan. We have 1.2million residents within our borders – nearly half the population of Wales. Here are some quick facts about our service. We:
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Have 500,000 incidents and 91,250 crimes each year
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Make over 56,000 arrests every year
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Receive over 2million phone calls, including 265,000 emergency 999 calls
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Employ over 5,000 people, including 3,000 police officers
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Are the fourth busiest force in Wales and England in terms of incidents
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Policed over 100 major events in the last year alone
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One incident takes place every minute of every day that we have to deal with.
How is the Police Service Funded?
South Wales Police Authority is responsible for controlling the £248.5million police budget. It is made up of government grants and a precept on local council tax as follows (based on the 2009/10 figures):
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The Home Office Police Grant provides 40%
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The Welsh Assembly Grant provides 33%
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Local precept from council tax provides 27%
As is illustrated, nearly three quarters of our budget comes from government grants. The amount of grant given is calculated using a funding formula, which takes into consideration a number of different elements, such as the size of the force and policing problems that have to be tackled.
For the next financial year, the formula has found that South Wales Police should receive £189million. However, the total we will receive is £186.4million – £2.6million less. This has been taken away from our grant and reallocated to the other police forces, as they do not reach the minimum funding requirement. As a result, we start the financial year £2.6million under funded. This is equal to 60 police officers on the street.
Your Police Authority continues to be disappointed and frustrated by this occurrence. We have continually lobbied the Home Office, stating that we need the full grant allocation because of the unique and difficult policing challenges within South Wales. Yet, this reduction continues to penalise us on an annual basis.
Reserve Levels
For an organisation the size of South Wales Police Authority, the Audit Commission recommends that we should have a reserve level of 3% - which equates to £8million. Our current reserve level is only £2.8million, which is less than 1% of our operating budget. The Audit Commission has now expressed concerns on the level of our general reserves, and has asked the Authority to address this.
Historically, South Wales Police has had a lack of investment when compared with many other forces across the country. Recent investments in our estate, including the new Cardiff Bay police station, have had to be funded from reserves, which are now depleted.
Efficiency Levels
Every year, the Police Authority looks for savings to be made from within our budget. Since 2001 we have found £28million worth of efficiency savings, which is over 10% of our current budget.
We will always look at finding money from within the service before increasing the cost to the public.
Click here to take survey