Mike Penning admitted the Government made errors in its controversial reform of the police funding formula after Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner demanded an apology.
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“We recognise this has caused great concern to police forces”. The Home Office is said to have used two different sets of demographic data to arrive at the funding calculations.
Under the current formula, Sussex receives the 14th lowest Government grant per head of population out of 43 forces despite being the tenth largest force in England and Wales.
Mr Penning told MPs: “I am sad to say there was a statistical error made on the data that has been used.
I and the Government regret this mistake and I apologise to the House”.
The implication of the new formula would have led to multi-million pound cuts to forces across the North East.
The government had launched a consultation on plans to change the formula, prompting six police and crime commissioners (PCCs) to threaten the Home Office with legal action.
At that point, it was thought that 11 forces would lose out on funding under the new arrangements, while four, including Humberside Police, would be unaffected and the remainder would see increases if overall levels of funding remain the same as a year ago.
Mr Penning announced the new funding formula in July in a bid to correct the “complex and opaque” way in which Whitehall funds are assigned to police forces.
The minister said that the Government meant to press ahead with police funding reform, but would delay the changes which were expected to come in next year.
In the Commons Jack Dromey, the shadow policing minister, condemned an “omnishambles process”, adding the minister must “get a grip and get it right”.
Home Affairs Select Committee chair Keith Vaz, who asked the urgent question, described the situation as a “shambles”.
“To call it a shambles would be charitable”.
It came after the error was revealed in a letter sent on 5 November by Mary Calam, the director general of the Home Office’s crime and policing group, to the office of Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Tony Hogg, who has been challenging the Government on the figures. “This was the first opportunity I have had to inform the House of the situation”.
“My chief executive has already been in touch with Home Office officials to offer the expertise that has been built up down here to ensure that the next process is significantly better”.
Mr White added: “This is what we have been calling for for a few time as the process gradually lost credibility and the admission of the significant errors last week were the final nail in the coffin”.
Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Richard Rhodes said: “I welcome the delay in implementing the changes, and the fact that the funding formula will now be consulted upon properly and robustly. What did you know and when did you know it?”
Mr Penning replied: “I was informed on Friday”.
He said: “This whole formula review process has been a disaster from start to finish and I share my colleagues concerns about whether we should go back to the drawing board”.
“What was quite clear to me and the Home Secretary was we needed to make a decision to pause so we get it right”.
Cleveland commissioner Barry Coppinger said he would today calculate how his force would be affected by the error, but added deep cuts in neighbouring forces would have a negative impact across the region.
“Officials have clearly been providing ministers with incorrect information and advice and they have been basing vital decisions for policing on that advice”.
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Mr Smith said: “This has been fouled up very badly”.
