Lancashire Constabulary has the lowest estate running costs a recent survey has revealed.

According to the most recent benchmarking figures, the force has the lowest cost of estate management when compared to all 43 forces in England and Wales, the Police Service Northern Ireland, Lothian and Borders Police and British Transport Police, which means Lancashire residents receive the best value for money from their policing service.

The Constabulary’s Estates Department subscribes to the Police National Property Benchmarking Scheme. Data is compiled internally within each force about the running costs of every police building including rent and energy costs and this information is returned to a company which coordinates the programme on behalf of subscribing forces on an annual basis.

The indicators have been designed for use by senior managers to help them monitor performance and improve the value for money they offer taxpayers.

Cllr Malcolm Doherty, chairman of Lancashire Police Authority, added: "These new benchmarking figures show that Lancashire Constabulary is not only consistently ranked among the best performing police forces in the country, it also has the lowest overheads which means that taxpayers’ money in the county is being wisely spent.

"This will be reassuring news to residents at a time when police forces continue to grapple with funding issues and challenging economic conditions and proves that in Lancashire we operate a lean operation and invest money generated through council tax responsibly.

"Over the past 12 months we have faced tough choices to ensure the force runs at maximum efficiency but we are confident that all of those decisions have ensured the best possible outcomes for the communities we serve."

Chief Constable Steve Finnigan added: "We are delighted that our operating costs compare favourably with other forces and that council taxpayers in Lancashire are able to see that they are receiving an excellent return for their investment.

"The Constabulary’s financial decisions are always guided by what is sensible and fair as far as the public purse is concerned while also seeking to maximise our performance potential."

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