Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Community Police Community Support Officers have been in post in (a) Enfield, (b) London and (c) England in each year since 2010.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales, broken down by Police Force Area (PFA), on a bi-annual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin.

These data are collected by PFA only, and lower levels of geography, such as London Boroughs are not collected. Data on the number of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in the Metropolitan Police Service and in England, as at 31 March each year, from 2007 to 2022 can be found in the ‘Workforce Open Data Table’. The latest mid-year figure, as at 30 September 2022, is also available in the data tables accompanying the latest ‘Police Workforce’ bulletin.

On 31 January, the Government confirmed a total police funding settlement of up to £17.2 billion in 2023/24, an increase of up to £287 million when compared to 2022/23. Assuming full take up of precept flexibility, overall police funding available to PCCs will increase by up to £523 million (3.6% in cash terms) next year. Individual force funding for 2023/24 can be found in the accompanying tables to the Written Ministerial Statement published as part of the Police Funding Settlement.

The Home Office does not hold specific information relating to the funding of Police Community Support Officers. Decisions on how to use funding and resources are an operational matter for Chief Constables. Police and Crime Commissioners are best placed to make resourcing decisions within their communities based on their local knowledge and experience.