Northampton South MP, Brian Binley, today called for an urgent review into the funding formula used to assess Government funding for Northamptonshire Police during a debate in the House of Commons.

Brian Binley said, "Northamptonshire Police are consistently being denied the level of grant that they require according to the needs formula itself. That seems to me like Alice in Wonderland. If there was ever a need for change, this is it."

"My police authority and county constabulary believe that they suffer from a particularly unfair example of formula funding."

"This formula uses national statistics, and, unbelievably, the Office for National Statistics concluded that Northampton would experience no population growth between 2000 and 2008."

The Government minister promised that he would look again at the formula used to decide how much support is given to each force in the country.

Brian Binley said in response, "I am delighted that the minister listened to the points I raised and recognised the importance of the need to change the formula funding.

"I have been arguing for years that the current system is unfair to counties like Northamptonshire and having spoken with the police it was clear that the county constabulary was losing out.

"Northamptonshire Police has lost £1.8 million in formula grant over the last three years. That would have paid for the equivalent of 20 extra officers on the beat every year - this is simply unacceptable."

3rd February 2010