Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria are used in the allocation of police funding to tackle violent crime.

The Government understands that police demand is changing and becoming increasingly complex. That is why we have provided a strong and comprehensive funding settlement for the police that will increase funding by £970million compared to 2018/19, including precept, pensions funding and national investment.

In relation to tackling violent crime, our Serious Violence Strategy, published in April 2018, is supported by £40million over 2 years to deliver initiatives that tackle serious violence, this includes: an Early Intervention Youth Fund of £22 million which is already supporting 29 projects in England and Wales. Over £17 million has already been allocated to projects delivering interventions to young people at risk of criminal involvement, gang exploitation and county lines.

Other funding we have made available to tackle serious violence includes: £3.6million to set up a National County Lines Co-ordination Centre; a Community Fund that provided £1.5 million this year to support 68 projects; and £1.4m to support a new national police capability to tackle gang related activity on social media.

Police funding continues to be a priority for the Home Secretary and we are working closely with the police sector to better understand the demand landscape.