Dear citizen, 

Today, good policing is not just about the number of officers on neighbourhood teams. The profile of crime in Bedfordshire is changing and evolving rapidly, and we cannot ignore the vital requirement for resources dedicated to tackle violence against women and children, drug crime and serious violence, cybercrime and fraud.  

In order to maintain critical services to protect the public, Bedfordshire Police will need to spend £156 million in 2025/26. 

The funding of this expenditure will be a combination of grants from central government (58%) and council tax (42%). For 2025/26, the government has increased its core allocation to Bedfordshire Police by 6.1%.  

However, given the historic underfunding of police services across the country and in Bedfordshire over the last 14 years, it will be necessary to increase the council tax by 5.28%. This equates to £14 for an average Band D council taxpayer – equal to only 27p a week. 

If the police element of the council tax increase were to be less than this, there would have to be reductions on police numbers with detrimental impact on everyone in the county.

Government police grant between 2010/11 and 2024/25 increased by around 19%, whilst the required spending for Bedfordshire Police increased by 45%. This required them to find savings of approximately £50 million and although the current government has committed funding it will take time to get back to a position where we have fairer funding that better reflects the needs of Bedfordshire. 

The planned increase is in line with the government-imposed cap for increases in police element of the council tax and it is expected that in most areas across the country there will be similar increase. 

As Police and Crime Commissioner, I am committed to securing value for money and to maximising the impact of every pound spent. Therefore, I will require the Chief Constable to deliver the budget efficiently and effectively and recognise that this may require some reductions in some departmental budgets or the redeployment of officers and staff.  

The 2025/26 police budget will be reflective of the needs and demands on policing across the county. We will take advantage of collaboration with regional police services and wider local public sector partners, and to drive improvements in productivity.  

I will always expect the police to maximise impact with the available resources, eliminate waste and never use the lack of funding as an excuse for poor performance or failing the people of Bedfordshire. 

Yours sincerely  

John Tizard 

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