Humberside Police has paid out £75,000 in a settlement of a civil claim against it.
The payment was approved by Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Jonathan Evison (Conservative), on May 16. The PCC is asked to approve any spend over £50,000 for oversight and transparency purposes, which is a long-standing arrangement.
After a recent review of its code of corporate governance, the Office of the PCC noted this was not visible to the public. A decision record is now published to demonstrate when the PCC signs off on over £50k spend.
The published decision record over the £75,000 civil claim settlement is very limited in detail, due to personal information involved. However, it states the costs payable are linked to a civil claim for damages against Humberside Police, dating back to an incident in Spring 2020.
A Humberside Police spokesperson has confirmed to Hull Live the claimant in the case is a member of the public and was not an employee of the force. Asked if it was considered value for money, the spokesperson clarified that the £75,000 was not compensation awarded to the claimant.
Rather, it is agreed negotiated costs to settle legal costs incurred by the claimant. “The force aims to settle claims as cost effectively as possible where there is liability, as in this case.”
To give an idea of the spend in the wider picture of the force, the forecast total budget for Humberside Police in 2025/26 is £255.7m. The salary in 2024/25 of the most junior officer, a police constable, varied by pay point from near £30,000 to £48,200, according to a Humberside Police Federation document.
The £75,000 legal costs settlement matches in spend the amount gifted by the PCC in £25,000 instalments between 2022 and 2024 to help support the development of the Horizon Youth Zone in Grimsby. But it is on the minor scale of spends or other budgetary sign-offs carried out by the Humberside PCC in recent months.
For example, in April, the PCC activated a contract extension with Victim Support for a continued welfare service for those affected by the Legacy Funeral Directors investigation. This will provide support services until March 31, 2026, and is at a cost of £352,303 a year.
The Humberside PCC-run Community Safety Fund is also due to have a budget of £1.6m to 2028/29. This scheme, which has been in existence since 2022, helps support community safety and crime reduction projects across Humberside region, with grants of between £500 and £35,000. The fund is being paid for incoming years thanks to cash recovered from criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act.