Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Vera Baird QC, comment on the 2015 Queen’s Speech
27th May 2015
“The government has announced a number of measures that we have already implemented in Northumbria. We are leading the way in changing how complaints are handled, we are working in partnership with the health service to provide extra support for those who have mental health issues and I am on record urging Theresa May to change how bail is used.
“These are all valuable changes to ensure better policing, but she has to address the fact that police forces up and down the country are expecting their budgets to be cut by a further 20% during this parliament. This will affect how we offer neighbourhood policing, deal with the non-crime issues that police officers assist with – the Home Secretary can’t keep asking for more whilst agreeing to the Chancellors cuts.
“Theresa May has a duty to protect frontline policing, her government isn’t offering this in the Queen’s Speech. I will be lobbying the Home Secretary to ensure she recognises the needs of communities in Northumbria and across the country from their police forces.”
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