Commons debates Police Grant Report 2017/18
23rd February 2017
Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner , Vera Baird QC, said: “Once again we have heard the Government talk the talk about how committed they are to protecting police budgets, yet deliver the complete opposite. In Northumbria we’ve taken hit after hit from the Chancellor, picking up the pieces as best we can with prudent financial planning.
“In fact, since 2010 our budget has been reduced by 26% – that’s the largest cut out of all forces in England and Wales. The Home Office Minister needs to explain how this equates to protecting police budgets.
“The reality is that the whole funding process is a shambles. The government had the audacity to set our budget by assuming an increase of £5.00 per year for a band D property. If I didn’t, we’d see less resources going into our police service.
“The government need to get their act together and get a fair police funding formula in place as a priority. Ministers have messed around trying to solve this for a few years – now they need to get it done.
“Northumbria needs a fair deal, we have an outstanding team delivering effective policing. They need the resources to do their job and the government has to fund this instead of passing the burden on to local people.”
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