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
Government responseUK Government: Accepted (Nov 2025)
DeliveryCabinet Office says completed (Feb 2026)
Recommendation, 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
AI-generated evidence summary
The Cabinet Office reported in February 2026 that the recommendation was completed, explaining that an ongoing review of the police funding formula is considering the relative impact of local factors and pressures on forces, and adding that "this work continues" alongside close engagement with the policing sector (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). Earlier, the UK Government had accepted the recommendation in full in November 2025 (Cabinet Office response, Nov 2025).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026.
Government response
●UK Government · Accepted · 14 Nov 2025
Accepted in full
Response document: Manchester Arena Inquiry recommendations (GOV.UK page linking to the Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard)
Delivery
●Cabinet Office says completed · 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
Earlier statements on delivery (0)
●Cabinet Office · 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
From: Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, original version (data file)
How this page is built
The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.