The scale of the financial challenge

The amount of money that Essex Police receives from government is forecast to reduce by £16 million over the next three years to 2016/17 (a reduction of around 3-3.5 per cent a year). In addition to this, and by the end of the same three year period, the force anticipates cost pressures in the region of £20 million a year. These pressures are made up of factors which are difficult to control such as inflation, wage rises and National Insurance contributions. The overall effect is that, by 2016/17, total budget savings of around £36 million a year will need to be found. To put this in perspective, the PCC’s budget for 2013-14 is £271 million. This is funded from central government grant and the portion of council tax used for policing and crime reduction. Nick Alston, Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex