London Mayor calls on Chancellor to put safety first in the autumn Budget

Speaking to London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee just five days after the Parsons Green terror attack, Sadiq Khan made it clear that if the Treasury continues with its policy of real-terms cuts to police funding, officer numbers will fall dangerously low and Londoners’ safety will be put at risk.

Police force budgets have been reduced in real terms by the Treasury every year since 2010, completely failing to take into account the increasing demand or inflationary pressure on policing. In London, the scale of this police funding crisis has already led to the loss of almost 3,000 police community support officers, most of the capital’s police station front counters and 120 police buildings in order to protect frontline police officers. Officer numbers are now at risk of falling below 30,000 for the first time since 2003, just as they are needed most.

Inflation has risen to 2.9 per cent and staff pay, pensions, and utilities continue to cost more every year. Crime is increasing, in volume, complexity and harm. London’s population is forecast to reach a record 10 million by 2030, and terrorism remains a constant and evolving threat, with five attacks across the country, four of them in the capital, in the last few months alone.

In the wake of the Parsons Green attack, the Home Secretary announced an additional £24 million for Counter Terrorism operations across the country. However, for every pound of Counter Terrorism spend in response to an incident, an additional £2 is spent on necessary additional non-Counter Terrorism activity, which has to come from wider policing budgets. The Mayor is clear that wider policing, not just counter terror, must be properly funded in the years to come, and that neighbourhood police officers in our communities are the eyes and ears of the security services when it comes to stopping terrorist attacks. 

The Government also recently announced a one per cent bonus for police officers above the one per cent pay cap, representing an additional cost of £13.7m per year for London policing – which must be funded from existing police budgets, meaning more cuts elsewhere.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The cowardly terror attack at Parsons Green station highlighted once more the courage and selflessness of our emergency services, who ran towards danger whilst directing others to safety. But it also highlighted the unprecedented demands on our police service, and how they desperately need proper funding to tackle new threats and keep us safe.

“Government cuts have already resulted in the loss of PCSOs, police buildings and most of the capital’s police station front counters. We are now in real danger of officer numbers dropping dangerously low. I’ve made neighbourhood policing one of my highest priorities, but despite this progress, the simple fact is that the Met’s budget is on a cliff edge and forces across the country having to make impossible choices to protect the frontline.

“Last week, the government recognised the value of our police service, with an announcement that officers will receive an additional one per cent pay increase for the next 12 months. But with no additional funds to pay for it, this puts even more pressure on police budgets and will inevitably mean cuts elsewhere. We have the best police service in the world and they deserve to be paid properly – but taking money from other parts of the police budget is not the answer.

“The Chancellor must use his Budget to put an end to years of police underfunding across the country.”

Sadiq Khan has already called on the Home Secretary for urgent confirmation that the Government will abandon its unwelcome funding formula review and that Met funding will be increased to ensure crisis is averted and the capital can be kept safe. He has done everything he can to provide additional funds and protect the frontline, including increasing the council tax precept by the maximum percentage possible and launching a public consultation on draft proposals to close even more front counters. But it is not enough.

 A reduction in officer numbers will mean more pressure on the already overstretched teams who protect the most vulnerable Londoners, and reductions in proactive and preventative work to tackle serious, organised crime and terrorism. It will also limit the capacity to respond to large-scale incidents and maintain a heightened police presence for any length of time.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• The cost to London policing of the two per cent pay rise for police officers is expected to be £13.7m. This is the cost of the additional non-consolidated one per cent bonus - the original one per cent pay cap is already budgeted for. After expected contributions from the Counter Terror grant and third parties, the final cost to the Met is estimated to be £10.7 million.
• The Met’s general reserves represent only two per cent of their budget. These are retained to provide a buffer in the event of unexpected pressures. The Mayor does not believe it is wise to run these down by paying day to day costs such as police pay during such uncertain times.
• The Met have had to find more than £600m of savings since 2010. A further £400m of savings are needed over the next four years.
• In July, the Mayor laid bare his concerns in a letter to the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, calling for:

• A significant real-terms increase in the Police Grant, so that the front line can be protected and the crime and safety challenges we face can be met
• The full funding of the National and International Capital Cities (NICC) Grant, to reflect the true – and accepted – additional costs that come with policing the capital
• An announcement, now, that the Government has abandoned its funding formula review

• In July, the Mayor was left no choice but to launch a consultation on draft proposals to further reduce the number of police station front counters. By the end of this process, London may have as few as 32 front counters left open to the public – only one per Borough. In 2008, there were 149.
• The National and International Capital Cities grant (NICC) - the Met is significantly underfunded for work to police London as a major global capital and the seat of Government. The Met spends some £346m a year ON this work, which includes diplomatic protection, and policing major events such as protests, concerts, football matches and state visits. The Home Office should reimburse Londoners for this work through the National and International Capital Cities (NICC) Grant, but currently underfunds London by around £172m a year. When the Home Office’s own expert panel reviewed the figures it suggested the Met should receive £281m a year. So, on either calculation, the Met is significantly short-changed.
• Funding Formula review – the Home Office was expected to review the Funding Formula under which resources are allocated to forces across the country earlier this year. When this was last considered in autumn 2015, the Met stood to lose considerable funding. But the review was abandoned due to technical errors. Last month there were reports that the latest review would be dropped. These are yet to be confirmed.