Sponsorship of police force plummets as recession bites

In a report to the South Yorkshire Police Authority, chaired by Charles Perryman, it is revealed that contributions to South Yorkshire Police Force were only 0.02 per cent of what the force is legally allowed to accept.

Donations and sponsorship to the force for the financial year 2010-11 were £39,877, compared with £119,578 the previous year.

The report points out the 2009-10 figure was “unusually high”, owing to the fact that the force was able to secure a donation of some high-value equipment.

“The current economic climate will undoubtedly have had a negative impact on the donations received,” the report claims.

“The reduction is compounded when comparing this years total with last years, as last year was unusually high due to some high value equipment secured by OSS.”

The report also shows sponsorship for the current financial year to have increased significantly, with £189,951 having been donated so far.

However, it also points out that £165,714 of this was in relation to the new Lifewise centre, a learning centre in Sheffield used to teach youngsters to avoid danger.

With this taken out of account, the current figure to date is £24,237, which the police authority said “appears to be more comparable to the amount received in 2010/11”.

Financial Instructions place a limit on the total value of sponsorship, cash donations, loans and provision of services that can be provided to a police force, stating that they must not exceed a maximum value of one per cent of the Force annual budget (£255,492,547).

An extract from the report states: “The effect on service provision is minimal as the sponsorship and donations are generally used to enhance services we offer to the public or for funding specific events that the force wishes to host.”