Staffing cuts at Surrey Police could be in the pipeline as the force attempts to fill a potential £23.4 million financial hole.

Surrey Police has to make the savings in the next four years and both government-agreed pay increases for police officers and staff and inflation have added to the difficult financial position.

Recognising the financial pressures on forces, the government has awarded a special grant of £175 million in 2024/25 to fund the 4.75 per cent officer pay award. Out of money set aside to cover the pay increases, Surrey has been awarded just £2.1 million to cover the costs.

As Surrey gets a smaller slice of government funding, calculated by a formula, there is less money to go around. The police allocation formula]is worked out through various data sources, including population density and the relative need for policing in areas.

The nature of the formula grant system means the annual money allocated to Surrey covers just 45 per cent of the total budget whereas other areas such as Northumbria get 80 per cent.

In a Police and Crime Panel meeting on September 26, Surrey Police’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Kelvin Menon, said “it is too early to say” exactly the savings that will need to be made and where.

The CFO said it is likely the government’s funding will only cover pay increases for Surrey’s police officers so the force will have to bridge the £2.4 million gap to cover the costs of police staff itself. Police staff may be cut as the force has to keep a base number of 2,253 officers.

Post-meeting, Cllr Richard Wilson said: “Due to the government’s penalty regime in place to ensure officer numbers are maintained, any reduction can only come from police staff. This means the people helping front-line officers in investigations and forensics.”

The CFO told the panel that work was also being done into making savings by changing shift patterns, reducing overtime and forensics. Additionally, looking at the benefits of upgrading administrative and data systems, potentially reducing vehicle numbers and a detailed budget review by area.

Modelling different scenarios, the CFO said Surrey Police might have to make up to £27.6 million gap as a worst-case scenario, or £21.5 million on an optimistic basis.

If the savings cannot be reduced by the time the budget is set in February 2025, the CFO said Surrey Police will have to use some of its reserves.

The previous government set Surrey Police an ‘uplift’ target of 2,253 officers and awarded £48,000 for every officer recruited above the baseline. Although the force recruited an additional 22 officers, it now remains uncertain whether the bonus will be received every year.

Surrey’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Lisa Townsend, said: “If [the bonus] ceases to be the case then officer numbers will have to be reduced.”

She added the reduction would happen through “natural wastage”, meaning officers leaving the force for a new job or change in career.