WEST Mercia Police is to pay Warwickshire Police £10.5million to cover the costs of separating services the two forces had previously shared, following the termination of the strategic alliance between them.
The ‘divorce’ between forces had been initiated by West Mercia’s Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion.
The majority of services will have separated by the beginning of April, but further agreements were required for the forces to deliver four key services together to ensure a smooth transition and until such time as new collaborations or arrangements are established.
The new collaboration agreements cover:
Information Technology services
Forensic Services
Transactional Services, such as Human Resources and Payroll
File storage facilities
These agreements cover from April 2020 to April 2021 and, if necessary, beyond.
Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe said: “I am pleased that we have been able to reach a settlement with West Mercia and have an agreed way forward which guarantees no disruption to the continuity of policing services in Warwickshire.
“During the current CoVID-19 public health emergency, it is important that both forces are in a position to focus fully on what is needed to support their local communities.
“This agreement means that Warwickshire Police will receive a fair settlement which recognises the considerable costs that we have already had to bear in re-establishing services within the county since the alliance termination decision was made by West Mercia.”
Warwickshire Chief Constable Martin Jelley said: “I am pleased that these matters are now resolved and that West Mercia Police have settled their liabilities.
“We can now move forward, ensuring our full focus can be on providing the best and most efficient services for our communities.”
Payments of £10.5 million will be made by West Mercia in three instalments over 15 months, with the majority being paid up front.
This settlement is a £10.5 million payment to Warwickshire, and the writing off of £270,000.
This was the contribution due for Warwickshire Police to pay West Mercia Police for the running costs of the shared services between the original date of the end of the alliance in October 2019 and the April 2020 extended date mandated by the Home Secretary at Warwickshire Police’s request.
