Home Office emergency funding provided to police forces
Updated 6 March 2014
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By its nature, policing has to deal with unpredictable events and emergencies. We expect Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to make reasonable provision for these exceptional items or events and there should be no presumption that financial assistance will be available in addition to general and specific grants.
Nevertheless, the police will need Special Grant on occasion. We will consider requests for Special Grant to help meet costs where necessary additional expenditure incurred would otherwise create a serious threat to the PCC’s financial stability and their capacity to deliver normal policing. Usually a Special Grant will only be considered once the costs reach one per cent of the force budget. However, ministers have discretion to waive this requirement.
The PCC submits an application in writing to Ministers, and officials in the Police Resources Policy team process this bid with the assistance of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, who provide advice as to whether the force’s operational response was appropriate and that the costs are proportionate. Each application received is different so there is no set timeframe for approval. Once all information is received from the PCC, applications are processed as soon as possible and usually within 4 weeks.