Spending on public order and safety: record highs and lows
The extremes of spending on public order and safety as published by HM Treasury, across the 24 periods held here (Year ending March 2003 to Year ending March 2026). Each record is a published figure, not a computed one, and the scope is this series — not “ever”.
The latest figure, £55.7bn in Year ending March 2026, is the highest in the whole published series of 24 periods. The rule: a period counts as beaten only when its figure is strictly below the latest, and the claim is only made when it reaches back at least five years.
Highest published
£55.7bnYear ending March 2026
Lowest published
£24.4bnYear ending March 2003
The full series
The chart as a table
| Period | Spending on public order and safety |
|---|---|
| Year ending March 2003 | £24.4bn |
| Year ending March 2004 | £26.4bn |
| Year ending March 2005 | £28.5bn |
| Year ending March 2006 | £29.3bn |
| Year ending March 2007 | £30.4bn |
| Year ending March 2008 | £31.7bn |
| Year ending March 2009 | £33.7bn |
| Year ending March 2010 | £34.1bn |
| Year ending March 2011 | £33.1bn |
| Year ending March 2012 | £32.1bn |
| Year ending March 2013 | £31.3bn |
| Year ending March 2014 | £29.6bn |
| Year ending March 2015 | £30.2bn |
| Year ending March 2016 | £30.2bn |
| Year ending March 2017 | £30.1bn |
| Year ending March 2018 | £31.5bn |
| Year ending March 2019 | £32.4bn |
| Year ending March 2020 | £34.5bn |
| Year ending March 2021 | £38.9bn |
| Year ending March 2022 | £39.8bn |
| Year ending March 2023 | £44.2bn |
| Year ending March 2024 | £48.7bn |
| Year ending March 2025 | £51.8bn |
| Year ending March 2026 | £55.7bn |
What a record here is, and is not
A record is the extreme of the periods this site holds for the current series, at each period’s newest published release. Earlier series measured under different methods are not compared against it. Money is in cash terms: a record set years ago stands against the money of its own year.