FOI 313295
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 313295
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 21st February 2024. Please find below the response to your request:
Please could you provide information which will answer the following questions.
What was the budget of West Mercia Police for the 2017/2018 fiscal year?
How much of West Mercia Police’s budget was spent on the alliance between West Mercia Police and Warwickshire Police in the 2017/2018 fiscal year?
What was the total budget of the alliance between West Mercia Police and Warwickshire Police in the 2017/2018 fiscal year?
What departments were funded as part of the alliance for the 2017/2018 financial year?
Reply
Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires West Mercia Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which: (a) states that fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and (c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
The exemption applicable to the information is:
Sec 21(1) Information Reasonably Accessible by Other Means
This is an Absolute, class based exemption.
The information that you require is already available Historic Financial Reports - West Mercia Police Crime Commissioner (westmercia-pcc.gov.uk)
Warwickshire Financial information can be found: Financial Information - Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire (warwickshire-pcc.gov.uk)
However you may wish to contact them directly as I note their information starts from 2019/20.
West Mercia and Warwickshire held their own budgets, these were then used to provide services to both force areas under the Alliance arrangement.
What departments were funded as part of the alliance for the 2017/2018 financial year?
All departments were covered as part of the Alliance but none were directly funded by the arrangement. The forces maintained separate finances.