Are you up to date with the latest police spending figures and blue light tender opportunities?
It has been three years since the Police Transformation Fund was launched. The project was established to “to prepare police to respond to changing crime threats and invest in digital technology.”
In phase 1 of the investment (2016/17 to 2017/18), 98 projects benefited from £223 million of funding.
Several investments have been made by the Home Office into police spending since then. Learn more by reading our police spending update below.
Police Transformation Project
In August 2018, the Home Office awarded over £100 million to police transformation projects, to “prepare police forces to adapt to the challenges of the future.”
When the funding was announced, Minister for Policing and the Fire Service Nick Hurd said:
“Criminals don’t stand still, and neither should our police forces. We’re determined to support police leaders in creating a modern, agile and responsive police service.
“The Police Transformation Fund is delivering real change in policing, and this new funding will continue to help forces improve efficiency and tackle threats like serious and organised crime.”
This funding has been allocated four police-led national programmes:
- The National Enabling Programme
- Specialist Capabilities Programme
- The Digital Policing Portfolio
- Transforming Forensics
Police funding settlement
At the end of last year, the Home Office published a police funding settlement for 2019-20.
Counter-terrorism policing was a priority within this. Its funding has been ringfenced and will increase by £59 million in 2019/20 to £816 million, £160 million more than the Home Office initially planned, to equip forces with the right resources to “keep citizens and communities safe.“
It was also announced that additional funding (£89 million) would be given to national programmes and priorities, bringing the total budget to £1billion (this excludes counter terrorism funding). The additional funding will support police forces to:
- Invest in police technology
- Provide Special Grant funding that forces can bid for to help cover costs of unexpected events and major investigations
- Devote more funds to the Police Now scheme (a graduate recruitment and training programme)
- Continue with existing top-ups to support the National Crime Agency and Regional Organised Crime Units
Blue Light Tenders
The spending commitments outlined above make the police a valuable customer within the defence marketplace.
If you would like to learn more about blue light procurement, visit our Blue Light Tenders page.
