Financial Resilience Framework
Published 19 August 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-resilience-in-policing/financial-resilience-framework
The government is establishing the Financial Resilience Framework for police forces. This framework will be a formalised approach to assessing police financial resilience and will act as the mechanism for determining the provision of Exceptional Financial Support to forces.
This government is committed to ensuring that policing has the resources it needs. In 26-27, total funding to police forces will be up to £18.4 billion, an increase of up to £834 million compared to the 2025-26 police funding settlement. This equates to a 4.7% cash increase and a 2.7% real terms increase in funding. Over the longer term, the government will deliver significant reforms to the policing system to ensure communities get the service they deserve. In particular, these reforms will strip out duplication and inefficiency to reinvest in frontline policing. As set out in the Police Reform White Paper, our first priority is to maintain a robust police funding system which offers the correct incentives, provides clear lines of accountability, ensures the best possible use of public money and above all maintains the safety of the public. The framework will be a key part of working in partnership with policing throughout this transition, and will provide support in a measured, targeted way, to the forces that require it most.
The government is supporting policing to deliver £354 million of efficiency savings by 2028-29. It is expected that all forces and PCCs seek all possible options to make savings and efficiencies to live within their budget. Additional support will only be made available in exceptional circumstances for where there are no other options, and only after a thorough assessment of the force’s finances.
Applications for Exceptional Financial Support will be subject to rigorous review, to ensure that forces are utilising all levers available to them to balance their budgets. Forces will be assessed against an independently verified set of metrics and thresholds, and utilising an independent body to conduct finance and governance reviews for those forces deemed in the most critical positions. A force in receipt of Exceptional Financial Support should expect to be subject to enhanced monitoring by the Home Office until they can demonstrate sustained progress against recommendations from the independent body, with interventions if necessary.
If a force is in receipt of Exceptional Financial Support, they will be notified as part of the annual Police Funding Settlement.