Band 8+: The table and charts below give information on the police budget for 2017 and 2018 in one area of Britain. The table shows where the money came from and the charts show how it was distributed. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The bar chart illustrates the comparison of the police budget allocated for the years 2017 and 2018 in a province in Britain, while the sources of this budget are detailed in the accompanying table.

Overall, it is clear that the police budget increased in 2018 compared to the previous year. Salaries comprised the largest portion of expenditure in both years.

Examining the bar chart more closely, we see that salaries represented the highest proportion of the budget in both years, although they decreased from 75% in 2017 to 69% in 2018. Following salaries, spending on buildings and transportation accounted for 17% and 18% respectively in those years. Notably, the expenditure on technology experienced a significant increase, rising from 8% in 2017 to 14% in 2018.

Turning our attention to the table, we can see that the national government was the largest contributor to the budget, providing £175.5 million in 2017 and increasing this to £177.8 million in 2018. Additionally, local taxes rose from £91.2 million to £102.3 million. The contributions from other sources, including grants, also saw a slight increase of £0.5 million.