(Cardiff West)
(Lab): What plans she has to increase the number of
police officers in the community. [900120]
The Minister for Policing and the Fire Service (Mr Nick
Hurd): The hon. Gentleman will know, I am sure, that
direct resource funding for the South Wales Police force, which
covers his constituency, will be up 3% in 2017-18. He will also
know that decisions on the size, composition and deployment of
the police workforce are operational matters for individual chief
officers and police and crime commissioners.
: Ministers should be
given credit for making sure that they leave no cliché left
unsaid in their attempt to defend their actions in relation to
the police force. Can the Minister remember a time when a
Conservative Government have been so unpopular with police
officers—apart from when the current Prime Minister was Home
Secretary?
Mr Hurd: I know from my time shadowing the hon.
Gentleman that he defers to no one in his admiration of a good
cliché. What I would say to him is what I hope any Policing
Minister for any Government of any colour would say, which is
that public safety is the No.1 priority for any Government. As he
heard from the Minister for Security, my right hon. Friend the
Member for Wyre and Preston North (Mr Wallace), we have protected
police spending in real terms since 2015 and increased spending
in areas of specialisation. Now, in the light of the terrible
events that have shocked us all, it is quite right that we go
through a process of reviewing, with police and crime
commissioners and colleagues from all parts of the House, what
resources are needed to be absolutely sure that the police have
the resources to keep us safe.
