MPs slam government lack of action on Lincolnshire Police funding
Lincolnshire MP Victoria Atkins has criticised the government’s lack of action on finding adequate funding for the county’s police force following a meeting with the Policing Minister.
The Louth and Horncastle MP joined fellow Lincolnshire MPs in a meeting on Monday with the Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson, Minister of State for Policing and Crime Prevention, to discuss the issues around funding for Lincolnshire Police.
This follows the news earlier in the summer that Lincolnshire Police have said that they may have to issue a section 114 notice, essentially declaring themselves bankrupt – the first British police force to do so - without additional support and will need to begin planning from October for a reduction of 190 police officers and 180 police staff. This would result in the force being left with around 1,000 officers.
Ms Atkins said: “I have been clear with the policing minister that the government must confirm funding urgently to avoid Lincolnshire Constabulary laying off officers and staff and reducing the service to constituents.
“Unfortunately, there was no commitment from the Government to increasing Lincolnshire Police’s funding. The burden of closing this funding gap must not fall on the local taxpayers of Lincolnshire.
“The safety and security of Lincolnshire residents should be the priority for Government and I urge them to provide Lincolnshire Police with the resources they need to achieve this.”
Two joint letters had been sent previously calling for a meeting about the funding crisis by the county’s Conservative MPs along with Boston and Skegness’s Reform UK MP Richard Tice.
Mr Tice commented: “Along with other Lincolnshire MPs, I have been pushing the Government to save Lincolnshire Police from effectively going bust in the short term. Alongside this, Lincolnshire Police needs to be fairly funded in line with other large rural councils, not treated as the poor relation."
In response, a Home Office spokesperson said: “Lincolnshire Police will receive £174.5 million funding in the current financial year, an increase of 6.2 per cent on 2024/25.
“The Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention has been engaging with Lincolnshire Police and will continue to work with them to ensure they have the resources they need to restore visible neighbourhood policing to our communities and tackle the crimes that make people feel unsafe.”
Across England and Wales, over this Parliament, the government says its commitment is to have 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing officers, PCSOs and special constables.
It says £200 million has been made available to help forces kickstart the increase in neighbourhood policing from 2025/26.
They said that total funding to police forces across the country will be up to £17.6 billion next year, an increase of up to £1.2 billion from the previous year.