Band 9: Writing Task 1 You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. 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. Write at least 150 words.

The table compares the sources of a police budget in one British region in 2017 and 2018, while the pie charts illustrate the distribution of the money in these years.

Overall, the income of the police department increased across all the sources, with the national government remaining the primary source of funding. In terms of expenditure, the most significant proportion of the budget was allocated to salaries in both years, although this share declined marginally.

Looking first at incomes, the national government was the main contributor in both years, directing just over 175 million pounds each year. Local taxes were the second largest source of income, with the revenue of £91.2m in 2017. It is evident that revenue from these taxes experienced the most significant growth, rising by around £10 million by 2018. By contrast, funding from other sources, such as grants, made up a much smaller amount, with around £38m in both years. The total budget rose from approximately £305m to nearly £319m.

As for spending, salaries accounted for the largest proportion of the budget in both years. To be specific, 75% was allocated to salaries in 2017, with this figure dropping slightly to 69% after a year. Buildings and transport made up a much smaller share, at 17%, and this remained unchanged in the following year. Technology, however, experienced a noticeable increase. Despite remaining the lowest expenditure category, it rose from 8% to 14%.