Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of police workforce shortages on response times to emergency calls.

The Government’s Safer Streets Mission sets a clear expectation for policing to deliver safer communities and improved public confidence. We are committed to giving forces the resources they need to keep the public safe.

The 2025-26 final police funding settlement provides up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. Total funding to police forces will be up to £17.6 billion, an increase of up to £1.2 billion compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement – a significant increase, and more than the increase last year. This equates to a 7.1% cash increase, and 4.6% real terms increase in funding.

This includes fully covering the costs for the 2024/25 pay award, the increase in the employer national insurance contributions, £376.8 million for officer maintenance and an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles.

It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions to make operational decisions based on their local knowledge and experience. This includes how best to allocate all the resources at their disposal to provide responses to emergency calls alongside all the other services and support they provide to communities.