Dorset's police funding criticised as being 'unfair'

Currently, Dorset residents contribute 52 per cent towards the force’s funding through council tax. 

Comparatively, the average in England and Wales is around 35 per cent and in some cases as low as 20 per cent. 

This means that Dorset Police received the second lowest amount of central government funding in England and Wales. 

And this does not rise during the summer months, when tourists will flock to the seaside, or the rurality of the county, police and crime commissioner David Sidwick has pointed out before.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp highlighted what he thought was a “particularly unfair funding settlement” for Dorset, saying the county’s force is being “very unfairly treated”. 

He told a major policing conference in Westminster on Wednesday: “I know, because I’ve seen it, the law of the preparatory work in the Home Office for a new funding formula hasn’t been done. 

“It is sitting on a shelf, or a hard drive, waiting to go. 

“I urge the new government to get on and bring that forward as we had intended to with, of course, protected transitional arrangements to make sure no one misses out.” 

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said the public needs police to feel confident to use their powers (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Responding to his speech, Dorset’s police and crime commissioner Mr Sidwick thanked the shadow home secretary for “recognising the particularly unfair position Dorset Police finds itself in year after year because of the outdated funding model”. 

He added: “The need for this to be addressed is urgent, and I want to thank Dorset’s MPs for their support thus far in pushing for more funding for Dorset and recognising the seasonality and sparsity which exists in our county, putting greater pressure on our resources year after year. 

“I echo the shadow home secretary’s call for this to be brought forward as soon as possible. I will continue to do all I can to lobby for a funding formula which is fit for purpose and to get Dorset a fair deal.” 

This financial year, Dorset Police will receive £180million – up from £167 million in 2023/24. Of that, £88million is from council taxpayers. 

In February, a police and crime panel unanimously approved plans to increase the amount of money residents in the county pay for their policing service. 

This means Dorset residents living in a band D property are paying an extra £13 a year, or £1.08 a month. 

But despite the record highs of money for the force, cutbacks are still having to be made to balance the books – including more recently 78 staff members leaving their roles to save £2.6million.