The directors present the strategic report for the year ended 31 March 2025.

The Company has continued to develop and grow its position at the centre of policing - assuming responsibility for national programmes and supporting the development and delivery of national strategy - whilst at the same time continuing to support and deliver for forces directly and at a local level.

The Company received a Grant award for the value of £22,366,848 from the Home Office National Police Capabilities Unit and Capabilities Reform Unit to be used for the purpose of a portfolio of inter-connected digital and forensic national programmes led by Police Digital Service to implement the National Police Digital Strategy and digital transformation across policing to support crime reduction, protect the public and drive efficiencies.

The company has made a profit before taxation of £2,220,861 (loss 2024 - £1,267,432) during the year which means at the end of the year there are net assets of £13,526,325 (2024 - £11,305,464). The profit for the year includes the release of £3,639,577.53 of deferred income related to prior years following a review of remaining liabilities, there were no related costs. Without this there would have been a loss of £1,418,717.

The directors are pleased with these results and aim to maintain and improve them over the coming years.

Stakeholder engagement

As the Board of Police Digital Service, we have a legal responsibility under section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 to act in the way we consider, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the company’s success for the benefit of its members as a whole, and to have regard to the long-term effect of our decisions on the company and its stakeholders.

The directors consider that they have acted in good faith in ways that would most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole, and in doing so have regard to a number of matters including:

• How our everyday decision making affects the reputation of the company with customers, employees and suppliers.

• Making strategic decisions in the best interests of the financial stability of company and its future projects.

The directors consider carefully the consequences of all projects, ensuring they are fully planned and costed, taking account of the wider impacts on the business and the environment. In addition, the company's operations continually strive to minimise environmental impact.

The company's operations expose it to a variety of financial risks that include the effects of market risk (including currency risk and price risk), credit risk and liquidity risk. The company's overall risk management strategy seeks to minimise adverse effects from the unpredictability of financial markets on the company's financial performance. The company uses sound management principles to protect against certain financial risk exposure.

The directors are responsible for setting the objectives and underlying principles of financial risk management for the company. The senior management team then establishes the detailed polices such as authority levels, oversight responsibilities, risk identification and measurement, exposure limits and hedging strategies. The policies set by the Board of directors are implemented by the company's finance department.

Financial key performance indicators

The directors have monitored the progress of the company strategy by reference to certain financial key performance indicators:

The company's turnover was £56,024,084 (2024 - £67,590,295).

Debt management

All major debt has been collected and the current outstanding balance relates to normal current debt which isn't due for payment.

Cashflow

The company’s financial position remains strong and we are looking to options to increase return on funds with minimal risk.

Non-financial key performance indicators

Staff Turnover

Month by month staff turnover has stabilised during 2024/25, though over the rolling 12-month period we saw a steady increase. As the length of service of the employees increases within the company, it is reasonable to assume that we will see a small increase in employee turnover, though we should also acknowledge a shifting economic picture and a strong DDaT recruitment market. At the end of 2024/25, our turnover was 15.5%. Within the DDaT industry, a turnover at or under 15%, with a retention figure of over 85% is considered good.

Ethnicity

We have seen a significant increase in those identifying as non-white in the company, with the ethnicity mix within the company changing positively. The "Non-White" benchmark in the civil service is 14% compared to 18.7% in the company now at the end of 2024/25.

Sexual orientation

The mix of sexual orientation remains broadly the same year on year with the "did not disclose” also stabilising at 10%. The Civil Service benchmark for LGBTQA+ and "other" is 5%, as March 2025 the company exceeded this benchmark at 6%.

Gender

During 2024/25, 34% of our workforce were women. This was a stable position during the financial year, with c.5 people not recording their gender. In 2024, 54.5% of the Civil Service were women.

Disability

An average of 5% of our employees were recorded as having a disability in 2024/25, with a similar number preferring not to record their status. Our focus for the next year is reducing the number of instances of 'preferring not to say' by enabling a culture where people feel comfortable to record their information. The Civil Service average in 2024 was 16.9% of their workforce recorded as disabled.

Age

The average age of the PDS workforce in 2024/25 was 42, with an average tenure of 2.3 years.

Business relationships

The directors have fostered strong relationships with suppliers, policing and the Home Office through regular engagement forums, collaborative workshops, and structured feedback. These interactions have provided valuable insights into operational challenges and emerging needs, directly informing decisions around innovation, strategy, and service delivery. This approach has strengthened trust, improved responsiveness, and ensured our solutions remain aligned with the priorities of police forces.

On behalf of the board

The directors present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.

The principal activity of the company continued to be that of coordinating, developing, delivering, and managing digital services and solutions that enable UK policing to safely harness technology to improve public safety.

The results for the year are set out on page 11.

The directors who held office during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were as follows:

The Company continued to invest in research and development to enhance its technology solutions for police forces. These innovations support operational efficiency, public safety, and integration with existing law enforcement systems. Our commitment to R&D ensures we remain a trusted partner in policing.

Applications for employment by disabled persons are always fully considered, bearing in mind the aptitudes of the applicant concerned. In the event of members of staff becoming disabled, every effort is made to ensure that their employment within the company continues and that the appropriate training is arranged. It is the policy of the company that the training, career development and promotion of disabled persons should, as far as possible, be identical to that of other employees.

Improving the culture and engagement with employees at all levels within Police Digital Service continued to be an important workstream throughout 2024/2025, helping to develop and embed a culture where our people feel they matter and understand how their role contributes to the success of the business. The programme of work that we instituted previously has been updated to reflect emerging priorities and is progressing well. Career development objectives, which include investing in our people through both specialist and behavioural training, continue to be important foundations for the way we shall operate in 2025/26 and beyond. The creation, piloting and initial delivery of Leaders At All Levels (a program designed for 100% of our people) is a reflection of that prioritisation and will continue into 2025/26.

Global warming is a continued focus of the company, every fraction of a degree of warming means more extreme weather and sea level changes impacting millions or people and other living creatures. We are committed to reducing carbon emissions from our own operations as well as from our supply chain.

We have followed the 2019 HM Government Environmental Reporting Guidelines. We have also used the GHG Reporting Protocol – Corporate Standard and have used the 2020 UK Government’s Conversion Factors for Company Reporting.

The chosen intensity measurement ratio is total gross emissions in metric tonnes CO2e per £m turnover, the recommended ratio for the sector.

The company is always looking for ways to improve its energy efficiency. Steps taken have been to reduce staff travel as much as possible and encourage increased video conferencing where possible.

The company has chosen in accordance with Companies Act 2006, s. 414C(11) to set out in the company's strategic report information required by Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, Sch. 7 to be contained in the directors' report. It has done so in respect of the review of the business for the year, the principle risks and uncertainties and analysis of development and performance. The review and analysis of the year are supported by both financial and non-financial key performance indicators.

So far as each person who was a director at the date of approving this report is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the company’s auditor is unaware. Additionally, the directors individually have taken all the necessary steps that they ought to have taken as directors in order to make themselves aware of all relevant audit information and to establish that the company’s auditor is aware of that information.

The directors are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the directors have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law, the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the surplus or deficit of the company for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.

The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

We have audited the financial statements of Police Digital Service (the 'company') for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the income and expenditure account, the statement of comprehensive income, the balance sheet, the statement of changes in equity, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the company's affairs as at 31 March 2025 and of its surplus for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:

• the information given in the strategic report and the directors' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• the strategic report and the directors' report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors' report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

• the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• certain disclosures of directors' remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

As explained more fully in the directors' responsibilities statement, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.

• the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations; and

• we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the company through discussions with directors and other management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of the computer component manufacturing and supply sector; and

• we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company, including the Companies Act 2006, taxation legislation, data protection, anti-bribery, employment, environmental and health and safety legislation; and

• we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence; and

• identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.

We assessed the susceptibility of the Group’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

• making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and

• considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

• performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;

• tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;

• assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates were indicative of potential bias; and

• investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

• agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;

• reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;

• enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims;

• communicating with component auditors to request identification of any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations that could give rise to a material misstatement of the group financial statements; and

• reviewing correspondence with HMRC and the company’s legal advisors.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

The income and expenditure account has been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing operations.

Police Digital Service is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is C/O TLT LLP, 20 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7JE.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, [modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value]. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

Atruet the time of approving the financial statements, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

Revenue is recognised to the extent that it is probable that the economic benefits will flow to the Company and the revenue can be reliably measured. Revenue is measured as the fair value of the consideration received or receivable, excluding discounts, rebates, value added tax and other sales taxes. The following criteria must also be met before revenue is recognised:

Rendering of services

Revenue from a contract to provide services is recognised in the period in which the services are provided in accordance with the stage of completion of the contract when all of the following conditions are satisfied:

• the amount of revenue can be measured reliably;

• it is probable that the Company will receive the consideration due under the contract;

• the stage of completion of the contract at the end of the reporting period can be measured reliably; and

• the costs incurred and the costs to complete the contract can be measured reliably.

Turnover also includes membership payments. which are recognised in the period to which they relate.

Government grants

Grants are accounted for under the accruals model as permitted by FRS 102. Grants relating to expenditure on tangible fixed assets are credited to surplus or deficit at the same rate as the depreciation on the assets to which the grant relates. The deferred element of grants is included in creditors as deferred income.

Grants of a revenue nature are recognised in the Statement of comprehensive income in the same period as the related expenditure.

Interest income

Interest income is recognised in the Statement of comprehensive income using the effective interest method.

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is credited or charged to surplus or deficit.

Cash and cash equivalents are basic financial assets and include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

The company has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the company after deducting all of its liabilities.

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors, bank loans, loans from fellow group companies and preference shares that are classified as debt, are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

The tax expense represents the sum of the tax currently payable and deferred tax.

The tax currently payable is based on taxable profit for the year. Taxable profit differs from net profit as reported in the profit and loss account because it excludes items of income or expense that are taxable or deductible in other years and it further excludes items that are never taxable or deductible. The company’s liability for current tax is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the reporting end date.

The Company operates a defined contribution plan for its employees. A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which the Company pays fixed contributions into a separate entity. Once the contributions have been paid the Company has no further payment obligations.

The contributions are recognised as an expense in surplus or deficit when they fall due. Amounts not paid are shown in accruals as a liability in the Statement of financial position. The assets of the plan are held separately from the Company in independently administered funds.

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged to profit or loss on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease except where another more systematic basis is more representative of the time pattern in which economic benefits from the leases asset are consumed.

In the application of the company’s accounting policies, the directors are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the company during the year was:

Their aggregate remuneration comprised:

The number of directors for whom retirement benefits are accruing under defined contribution schemes amounted to 1 (2024 - 0).

The actual charge/(credit) for the year can be reconciled to the expected charge/(credit) for the year based on the profit or loss and the standard rate of tax as follows:

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the company in an independently administered fund.

The company is limited by guarantee, not having a share capital and consequently the liability of members is limited, subject to an undertaking by each member to contribute to the net assets or liabilities of the company on winding up such amounts as may be required not exceeding £1.

At the reporting end date the company had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

Some of the Directors are associated with various police forces. Transactions occurred during the year between Police Digital Service and some of these police forces in the normal course of its objectives.

The company has chosen to not disclose any transactions with associates bodies where transactions have taken place in the normal course of their objectives as they do not come within the definition of a related party.