Tory police commissioners threaten Home Office with legal action

Six police and crime commissioners, five of whom are Tories, are threatening to seek a judicial review over proposed Home Office changes to the way police forces are funded in England and Wales.

A brainchild of the Conservatives, elected police and crime commissioners (PCCs) were first introduced in 2012, although the election drew an extremely low turnout at just 15.1 per cent.

Now six PCCs have written to policing minister Mike Penning, warning him that they are "taking legal advice with a view to initiating a judicial review" over a new funding formula that the Home Office is consulting on.

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Under the new system, the money allocated to the 43 forces in England and Wales would be determined by factors such as the number of jobless households and the number of bars in an area. "While some forces could see their budgets increase under the new system, analysts suggest 11 forces could lose out on funding," says the BBC.

In the letter – seen by The Independent – the PCCs for Cumbria, Lancashire, Devon and Cornwall, Merseyside, North Yorkshire and Thames Valley warn that the proposals are "unfair, unjustified and deeply flawed".

The proposals could see "millions of pounds slashed from the budgets of several police forces already rocked by spending cuts", says the newspaper.

Mayor Boris Johnson, who acts as the equivalent of a PCC in London, has previously warned that the planned changes would "severely disadvantage" the capital. Stephen Greenhalgh, Johnson's deputy mayor for policing and crime, has also put his name to this week's letter.

The row "heaps extra pressure" on Home Secretary Theresa May, who created the role of police commissioners in 2012, says the Independent.

The Home Office has said that no final decisions on funding allocations have been made. In a statement, Penning said further reform is needed if policing is to be "the best it can be", which "includes putting police funding on to a long-term, sustainable footing".

He added: "The current model for allocating police funding is complex, opaque and out of date. That is why we have consulted on principles for reform of funding arrangements for the police in England and Wales, ensuring they are fair, robust and transparent."