Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) the Metropolitan Police and (b) other police forces on the cost to the public purse of policing protests relating to the Israel-Hamas conflict since October 2023.

The Home Secretary and Minister of State for Policing, Crime and Fire speak to chief constables on an ongoing basis on a range of subjects. As set out in the Home Affairs Select Committee’s recent report, NPCC and MPS leaders indicate that the costs of the policing Israel-Hamas-related protests was at least £25million between 7 October and 17 December. However, this figure includes the costs of community patrols, engagement and investigations that have taken place in efforts to tackle issues related to the ongoing Israel-Hamas-related conflict.

While we expect all police forces to hold reasonable levels of contingency funding for unplanned operations, it is open to Police and Crime Commissioners and their equivalents to request additional funding through the Police Special Grant. Criteria and guidance are published on gov.uk Special grant guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). It should be noted that the Metropolitan Police has the highest level of officers and funding per capita of all forces in England and Wales and a third more funding than similar areas like Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool.