Uniform costs
Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FOI/26/009817/F
Version Date: 12/05/2026
The Finance Department and Central Stores have provided the following information:
Due to my increased council tax bill for Policing & your forces explanation, in your newsletter I would like to know due to the increase in Woman officers, how much of the Police budget has been spent on Official & Mess dress uniforms for these promoted positions. Over the years I have been paying council tax, in the area, so from 2019 until 2026 ???
The table shows all purchases for female officers from the supplier base.
|
Item |
2018/19 |
£ |
2019/20 |
£ |
2020/21 |
£ |
2021/22 |
£ |
2022/23 |
£ |
2023/24 |
£ |
2024/25 |
£ |
2025/26 |
£ |
|
Tunics |
33 |
1,509.60 |
26 |
1,373.10 |
115 |
6,330.85 |
5 |
281.75 |
22 |
1,306.80 |
61 |
1,525.00 |
40 |
10,920.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trousers |
316 |
6,936.20 |
380 |
8,591.80 |
190 |
4,465.10 |
260 |
6,214.00 |
300 |
9,342.00 |
67 |
670.00 |
450 |
52,200.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
|
Skirts |
45 |
1,014.75 |
10 |
231.30 |
140 |
3,430.00 |
55 |
1,347.00 |
56 |
1,617.84 |
0 |
0.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
Please note, the tunics are only worn on certain occasions and are therefore issued on a loan basis with Central Stores arranging the dry-cleaning upon return for re-issue. The trousers and skirts are worn far more regularly by a wide range of disciplines and ranks and therefore need replacing far more often.
The established supplier exited the market in early 2019 and allowed D&C to purchase all available stock.
As a consequence of this, the Avon & Somerset Police moved to an alternative supplier (different fabric & colour) in 2020 and allowed D&C Police to purchase all their stock of the previous version.
D&C continued to purchase matching stock from other Forces when available/necessary. The previous supplier re-entered the market in 2023 and D&C placed an order to replenish stock levels.
These events bring us up to date, with no further purchases necessary during the most recent financial year.