Avon and Somerset Police Authority and Constabulary have been praised by the Audit Commission for the way they manage their finances.

The Audit Commission has given Avon and Somerset Police Authority an overall score of ‘3’, which indicates that the Authority and Constabulary are performing well in their use of resources.

Many public sector organisations, including local councils, are subject to the Audit Commission’s Use of Resources (UoR) annual assessment. The assessment looks at how well organisations are managing and using their resources to deliver value for money and better and sustainable outcomes for local people.

Police Authority member and Chair of the Finance Committee, Councillor Arthur Terry said: “The Police Authority is responsible for ensuring the effective spending of the police budget and making sure the Constabulary is adequately resourced. With the tough economic climate it means people are looking even closer at how public sector organisations are spending their hard-earned taxes.

“The score from the Audit Commission recognises the hard work that goes into making sure taxpayers’ money is being used efficiently and we have demonstrated to the public that we are performing well in this area. We will continue to make further improvements in 2010 to ensure the public are getting the best value for money from their police service.”

Association of Police Authorities Chair Rob Garnham also praised the financial reporting of Police Authorities, he said: “This means that every police authority has met or exceeded the expectations of the Audit Commission's Use of Resources Framework, despite the changes to the auditing arrangements this year, which represent the setting of a higher bar and more ambitious expectations of the way that resources are used. This is a significant achievement for police authorities, and one that deserves much credit.”

“Once again this demonstrates the valuable and conscientious work that police authorities are undertaking to ensure that local people get real value for money in policing.”