The mergers were opposed by many forces

The low pay-out was "regrettable", the Association of Police Authorities said.

Forces losing out include Surrey, which claimed �649,000, and Sussex, which claimed �519,000. Both get �100,000.

The Conservatives said the whole plan had been "folly" which wasted money intended for frontline policing. Lib Dems called it a "slap in the face".

Policing minister Tony McNulty said that in deciding the amounts given to the different forces "consideration has been given to the need to treat all forces fairly given the wide disparity in the amounts claimed".

'Staggering waste'

The minister said "other factors" included affordability of the total amount due to be paid, and where costs had been incurred in response to specific requests by the Home Office.

In all but four cases the amount being paid is to be capped at �100,000 per force.

FORCE-BY-FORCE PAYOUTS Bedfordshire: �23,430 Cambridgeshire: �100,000 (claimed �242,000) Cheshire: �100,000 (�339,767) Cleveland: �100,000 (�189,986) Cumbria: �271,000 Derbyshire: �35,782 (�58,469) Dorset: �140,836 Durham: �67,155 Dyfed-Powys: �100,000 (�225,891) Essex: �100,000 (�169,870) GMP: �75,810 Gwent: �96,467 Hampshire: �11,495 Hertfordshire: �100,000 (�144,327) Humberside: �100,000 (�119,730) Kent: �100,000 (�152,042) Lancashire: �725,000 Leicestershire: �37,232 Lincolnshire: �287,600 Merseyside: �100,000 (�266,357) Norfolk: �100,000 (�135,729) North Wales: �100,000 (�245,020) North Yorkshire: �100,00 (�167,808) Northamptonshire: �85,800 Northumbria: �38,021 Notts: �46,200 South Wales: �100,000 (�326,944) South Yorks: �30,652 Staffs: �56,317 Suffolk: �45,483 Surrey: �100,000 (�649,311) Sussex: �100,000 (�519,879) Thames Valley: �33,860 Warwickshire: �100,000 (�174,608) West Mercia: �89,061 West Mids: �100,000 (�117,591) West Yorks: �100,000 (�104,569) Where only one figure is given, the full amount claimed is being paid

As well as Sussex and Surrey, there are losses of more than �100,000 for the Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Dyfed-Powys, Merseyside, North Wales and South Wales forces.

There are exceptions to the �100,000 cap for Lancashire and Cumbria police authorities because they were selected to become the first merged force.

Lancashire will be paid its full amount of �750,000 and Cumbria will get �271,000.

Lincolnshire police authority will be reimbursed �287,600 because of work done on Home Office advice, he said, and Dorset will receive �140,000 because its bid took account of work done on behalf of four other forces.

The chairman of the Association of Police Authorities, Bob Jones, said the failure to reimburse all the money claimed was "regrettable".

"After all, the money police authorities spent was money that would otherwise have been spent on improving local policing for local communities," he said.

Shadow home secretary David Davis said: "This shows the folly of the government's attempts to force regionalisation on our police forces.

"The Home Office is refunding just two-thirds of what police authorities were forced to spend to prepare for amalgamations, and presumably this money will be robbed from the police budget anyway.

"Millions of pounds which should have been used to support frontline policing have been wasted."

The Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, Nick Clegg, said it was "a slap in the face for taxpayers and the police alike... millions of pounds have been spent on this unnecessary, harebrained scheme".

But the Home Office said the work carried out in preparation for the mergers would stand forces in good stead.