On Monday 9th November I had the opportunity to quiz Policing Minister Mike Penning on the Home Office’s failures in calculating police funding for South Wales.
It was important to question the Minister on this matter as it was revealed on Friday that the Home Office’s proposed new funding formula for police forces was based on the wrong data, leaving South Wales police £15.5 million worse off. The revelations from the Home Office show the monumental incompetence of the Home Office when it comes to the police, instilling little confidence that the Home Office know what they are doing.
In the Chamber, I asked the Minister;
“I welcome the Minister’s apology today, but how can my constituents, the Police and Crime Commissioner and South Wales Police have any confidence that when the Home Office undertakes this formula that he’s described in 2016/2017 that the Minister will get it right this time?”
To which the Minister completely failed to address my question, simply saying that;
“I think one of the things that we can make sure is that when the calculations within the formula and the modelling within the formula are done by the statisticians that we can get that looked at very carefully, and this is one of the things that we are looking at, and is one of the recommendations from the Select Committee is that we get that independently peer reviewed towards the end. But whatever happens this formula needs to change so it’s fairer for everybody.”
You can watch the exchange here: