Consider funding arrangements for police services
Manchester Arena Inquiry · Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · Issued 3 November 2022 · Addressed to: Home Office, Greater Manchester Police
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
The Inquiry heard evidence that the impact of public funding cuts fell disproportionately hard on metropolitan police services, such as Greater Manchester Police, compared with non-metropolitan services. In the event that public funding cuts are in the future considered necessary by the government, the Home Office should consider whether some funding arrangement for police services different from that applied in the post-2010 period is necessary.
Manchester Arena Inquiry, Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · 3 Nov 2022 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The Home Office stated that the overall level of central government funding for policing is determined through the Comprehensive Spending Review and distributed via the annual police settlement (Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, Cabinet Office, February 2026).
- The police funding formula is under review, considering demands facing each force and relative impact of local factors (Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, Cabinet Office, February 2026).
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
The Home Secretary made a written statement to Parliament on 3 November 2022 following publication of Volume 2, acknowledging the findings on emergency response failures and stating the government would work with emergency services to implement improvements. The response committed to reviewing interoperability arrangements between emergency services and strengthening joint training and exercising protocols for major incidents.
UK Government · 3 Nov 2022 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 27 Feb 2026 The police receive their funding from a number of sources, but the two main sources are central government funding and the policing precept component of council tax. Police and Crime Commissioners are responsible for setting the annual budget for their police force area including, subject to referendum limits, the level of police precept. The overall level of central government funding for policing is determined through the Comprehensive Spending Review. The distribution of funding for policing is confirmed via the annual police settlement, the allocation of which is currently based on a funding formula which we are reviewing. This police funding formula review is considering the demands facing each police force and the relative impact of local factors on forces. We have engaged closely with the policing sector throughout the review, and this work continues Source →
- 14 Nov 2025 The police receive their funding from a number of sources, but the two main sources are central government funding and the policing precept component of council tax. Police and Crime Commissioners are responsible for setting the annual budget for their police force area including, subject to referendum limits, the level of police precept. The overall level of central government funding for policing is determined through the Comprehensive Spending Review. The distribution of funding for policing is confirmed via the annual police settlement, the allocation of which is currently based on a funding formula which we are reviewing. This police funding formula review is considering the demands facing each police force and the relative impact of local factors on forces. We have engaged closely with the policing sector throughout the review, and this work continues Source →
- 14 Nov 2025 · Cabinet Office Government published formal Manchester Arena Inquiry recommendations dashboard on GOV.UK (14 November 2025) tracking all 149 recommendations with implementation progress updates. View source → Reasonable Progress
- 3 Apr 2025 · UK Parliament Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 received Royal Assent 3 April 2025. Creates two tiers: Standard Duty (200-799 capacity) and Enhanced Duty (800+). SIA will be regulator. Not yet in force -- at least 24 months before enforcement (expected April 2027). View source → Reasonable Progress
- 5 Jun 2023 · National Police Chiefs Council NPCC, Counter Terrorism Policing and College of Policing provided comprehensive updates to Sir John Saunders demonstrating "continued drive to improve collective response to terrorist incidents." View source → Reasonable Progress
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.