Setting the Kent Police budget
The PCC is responsible for the Kent Police gross budget of £458.7 million for 2023/24. He uses this money to make Kent a safer place to live and work. This sum takes into account predicted savings of £14.1 million.
As taxpayers, you have a right to see how he spends your money.
| Source | £m |
| Central government grants | 249.1 |
| Council Tax Precept (2023/24) | 160.7 |
| Estimated council tax deficit (2021/22) | 0.4 |
| Locally generated income | 34.4 |
| Predicted Savings | 14.1 |
| Total financing | 458.7 |
| Expenditure | £m |
| Kent Police staff and officers' pay | 366.2 |
| Kent Police staff and officers' overtime | 7.9 |
| Premises | 27.7 |
| Transport (incl insurance) | 9.5 |
| Other non-pay costs including IT, supplies etc | 41.9 |
| Grants and victim services awarded by the PCC | 4.2 |
| Costs of the OPCC | 1.4 |
| Gross police and community safety spending | 458.7 |
Council tax precept
The PCC is responsible for setting the police part of the council tax bill, known as the police precept.
Following consultation with the public and local partners, the PCC's proposal to set the precept for 2023/24 at £243.15 for an average (Band D) property was approved at a meeting of the Kent and Medway Police and Crime Panel on 1 February 2023. This is an increase of £15, or 6.57%, on the 2022/23 precept.
The PCC’s response can be viewed here.
Our council tax leaflet outlines how your money is spent.
Reserves
The reserves is the savings that the Police and Crime Commissioner has 'in the bank' to support the annual budget, fund investment in transformational projects and to use when necessary to mitigate against any financial risks. There is no defined minimum level of reserves that PCCs must hold.
In Kent the PCC, with advice from the Chief Finance Officer and taking into account local and national circumstances, has agreed that a general non-earmarked reserve of 3% of the net budget (around £12 million) is maintained for unforeseeable events - such as Operation Stack, large public order incidents, major investigations and civil incidents like flooding.
Read the OPCC's reserves strategy and current reserves position.
Further details of the PCC’s reserves can be found in Annex B1
Accounts
See details of our Treasury Management strategy and the Statements of Accounts below.
2023-2024 Financial Documents
Treasury Management Strategy 2023-2024
Medium Term Financial Plan 2023-2028
2022/2023 Statement of Accounts
- 2022-23 Kent Group and PCC Unaudited Draft Statement of Accounts
- 2022-23 Kent Chief Constable Unaudited Draft Statement of Accounts
These are the draft, unaudited financial statements. The Press Notice below gives details of the progress of the external audit of the Accounts.
Press Notice: The external audit of the draft statement of accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 has not yet been completed by our external auditors, EY LLP, due to the complex set of factors contributing to audit delays across the sector. This situation is allowed for by Regulation 10, paragraph (2a) of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015. (See attached link: The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)). Therefore, this notification explains, as per paragraph (2a), that we are not yet able to publish our audited 2022/23 final statement of accounts in line with deadline of 30th September 2023, as per paragraph (1). The Joint Audit Committee will consider the results of the 2022/23 audit, after which we will publish the final audited accounts.
2021/2022 Statement of Accounts
- Kent Group and PCC Statement of Accounts 2021-22
- Chief Constable Statement of Accounts 2021-22
- Auditor's Annual Report
2020/21 Statement of Accounts
- Chief Constable Statement of Accounts 2020-21
- Kent Group and PCC Statement of Accounts 2020-21
- Audit certificate for the Police and Crime Commissioner of Kent 2020/2021
- Audit Certificate for the Chief Constable of Kent 2021/2021
- Auditor's Annual Report
Other financial documents:
2019/20 Statement of Accounts
Ernst and Young LLP were appointed as the External Auditor for both the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable of Kent Police in 2018/19 financial year. This is for a period of five years.
The PCC and Chief Constable have taken the decision to opt in to the 'appointing person' arrangements made by Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA). An arrangement that offered a number of advantages over undertaking a separate procurement exercise.
PSAA were specified as the 'appointing person' under the provisions of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. This meant that PSAA would make auditor appointments to relevant principal local government bodies that chose to opt into the national appointment arrangements.
The consultation on proposed appointments closed on 22 September 2017. As part of the process the PCC and Chief Constable were asked to confirm their satisfaction with Ernst & Young LLP as External Auditor from 2018/19, which it did. Formal notification of the appointment was received from PSAA on 18 December 2017.
Contracts, assets and liabilities
- Read the OPCC's Capital Strategy
- View our register of assets (land and buildings)
- View further details of contracts held: