Tories slash funding to police by £2.7bn, says Labour

Sunday, 28 October 2018 22:30

New analysis of National Audit Office data by the Labour Party shows a huge fall in central government funding to police forces of £2.7bn in real-terms since 2010-11. The Met has seen the largest reduction in central government funding at £655m, or a quarter (24 per cent) of their total funding. Last month, the Home Secretary admitted that “there is a need for more resources” for the police. A growing number of police leaders have gone public with warnings about...Request free trial

New analysis of National Audit Office data by the Labour Party shows a huge fall in central government funding to police forces of £2.7bn in real-terms since 2010-11.

The Met has seen the largest reduction in central government funding at £655m, or a quarter (24 per cent) of their total funding.

Last month, the Home Secretary admitted that “there is a need for more resources” for the police.

A growing number of police leaders have gone public with warnings about the impact of austerity on policing in recent weeks, including Chief Constables of Greater Manchester, West Midlands, Merseyside and Norfolk warning of further workforce cuts as a result of demands to find another £165m in 2019-20 and up to £417m in 2020-21.

The Chief Constable of Staffordshire and Deputy Chief Constable of Manchester have even taken to Twitter to warn the Treasury about the impact of austerity on policing in their communities, with Chief Constable Gareth Campbell asking: “Unplanned for & totally unexpected changes to pensions @StaffsPolice means I need find £2m pounds savings to fund them next year. On top of £4m savings planned already. On top of 8 years austerity… How then to explain to @hmtreasury you simply can’t continue to reduce the money available & not expect a reduction in service”.

Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott MP said:

“If austerity really is over the Government must cough up money in the Budget to give our police the funding they need.

“You simply cannot keep people safe on the cheap and these figures demonstrate the true scale of the Tory assault on police funding that is devastating our communities and leaving them at risk.

“Even the Home Secretary concedes that the Conservatives have been short-changing forces, and yet there is no sign of austerity ending for the police anytime soon.

“Labour’s commitment to policing and public safety is clear. We will recruit 10,000 more police officers to keep our communities safe.

Ends

Notes to editor

· The NAO recently calculated that central government funding to commissioners has fallen by 30 percent in real terms since 2010-11.NAO, Financial Sustainability of Police Forces in England and Wales, 11 September 2018,https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Financial-sustainability-of-police-forces-in-England-and-Wales-2018.pdf

Using a Freedom of Information request, Labour asked the NAO to provide the background data used to calculate the 30 percent reduction.

Analysis shows that this 30 percent fall equates to a £2.7bn real-terms reduction in central government funding to police forces since 2010-11. Of this, 24.3 percent has been lost from the Met.

Police force	Central government net change £	% of total funding reduction
Metropolitan	-654,786,653	24.3
West Midlands	-165,116,072	6.1
Greater Manchester	-153,765,745	5.7
West Yorkshire	-113,620,436	4.2
Merseyside	-90,396,258	3.4
Northumbria	-83,781,422	3.1
Thames Valley	-80,613,736	3.0
Hampshire	-70,303,596	2.6
Lancashire	-69,151,256	2.6
South Yorkshire	-67,465,092	2.5
Kent	-66,491,069	2.5
Devon & Cornwall	-63,168,499	2.3
Essex	-60,919,576	2.3
South Wales	-60,669,576	2.3
Avon & Somerset	-59,658,890	2.2
Sussex	-57,256,043	2.1
Nottinghamshire	-46,661,067	1.7
Humberside	-41,951,650	1.6
West Mercia	-40,784,352	1.5
Cheshire	-40,385,449	1.5
Hertfordshire	-39,350,617	1.5
Leicestershire	-38,917,264	1.4
Staffordshire	-38,835,440	1.4
Derbyshire	-38,186,419	1.4
Surrey	-34,023,185	1.3
Cleveland	-31,725,180	1.2
Durham	-30,750,857	1.1
Norfolk	-29,896,433	1.1
North Wales	-27,850,929	1.0
Gwent	-27,808,418	1.0
Cambridgeshire	-26,894,880	1.0
North Yorkshire	-25,157,640	0.9
Northamptonshire	-24,804,144	0.9
Bedfordshire	-24,035,760	0.9
Suffolk	-23,387,664	0.9
Cumbria	-22,884,258	0.8
Lincolnshire	-22,135,958	0.8
Wiltshire	-21,744,277	0.8
Dorset	-21,308,659	0.8
Gloucestershire	-19,761,978	0.7
Dyfed-Powys	-19,333,002	0.7
Warwickshire	-17,930,316	0.7
City of London	0	0.0
Total England & Wales	-2,693,669,713	100

NAO, Financial Sustainability of Police Forces in England and Wales, 11 September 2018, https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Financial-sustainability-of-police-forces-in-England-and-Wales-2018.pdf

· Speaking at the Police Superintendents Annual Conference recently, the Home Secretary conceded that “there is a need for more resources”.

“I do recognise the pressures on policing. I’ll fight on the police’s behalf so you have the resources you need to do your jobs effectively… I recognise there is a need for more resources. I don’t think the increases over the past 3 years have been enough”

Sajid Javid, Police Superintendents Annual Conference, 11 September 2018,https://news.sky.com/story/sajid-javid-admits-police-do-not-have-enough-resources-as-he-faces-pay-anger-11495380

· However, the Chancellor has reportedly dismissed suggestions there will be more funding for police at the Budget, even though Whitehall sources have said extra investment is needed “just to stand still” and ministers admit that the “police need more resources”.

Sunday Times, 21 October 2018,https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/warning-as-philip-hammond-rejects-rise-in-police-funds-xlrkr6lbc

“We can no longer say that crime spikes are Sadiq Khan’s fault when it is rising in Norfolk and Devon as well. We are at the point where we need more money just to stand still.”

Whitehall source, Sunday Times, 21 October 2018

“There has been a major shift in the threats we are facing from organised crime, terrorism and Russia. That’s just a fact. The police need more resources.”

Unnamed minister, Sunday Times, 21 October 2018

· Police chiefs have also recently been told to find another £165m in 2019-20 and up to £417m in 2020-21 as a result of an overhaul of pension schemes announced recently by the Treasury.

Times, 11 October 2018,https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ten-thousand-police-at-risk-in-600m-cash-crunch-kj9jwmfqr

· This has led four Chief Constables to warn of further workforce reductions and rationing of services as a consequence.

“Clearly we would always look to save money without job cuts, but the reality is 83% of our budget is people and after eight years of efficiencies across all parts of the organisation – which has seen us make reductions of £183m – there would be little alternative but to cut posts, both officers and staff.”

Ian Hopkins, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Guardian, 23 October 2018,https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/23/police-chiefs-fewer-officers-treasury-shrinks-budgets-pensions

“There is no question there will be more obvious rationing of services. The public can already see it is going on. We are already not pursuing crimes where we could find a suspect. We are doing things now that surprise me. We are struggling to deliver a service to the public. I think criminals are well aware now how stretched we are.”

Dave Thompson, Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, Guardian, 23 October 2018,https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/23/police-chiefs-fewer-officers-treasury-shrinks-budgets-pensions

“The impact of the proposed changes on police officer pensions cannot, and should not, be underestimated. It is incumbent on me to ensure that those who will make the final decisions in relation to the pension changes understand the crippling impact these changes will have on policing.”

Andy Cooke, Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, Guardian, 23 October 2018,https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/23/police-chiefs-fewer-officers-treasury-shrinks-budgets-pensions

“Community policing will be under threat. We will end up attending and investigating less, detecting less crime, and providing a service I don’t believe any chief constable would be happy with.”

Simon Bailey, Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary, Guardian, 23 October 2018,https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/23/police-chiefs-fewer-officers-treasury-shrinks-budgets-pensions

· These warnings come against a backdrop of a growing number of senior figures in policing willing to clash publicly with the Conservative Party over its cuts to the service.

· The Chief Constable of Staffordshire took to Twitter at the weekend to explain directly to the Treasury the financial strains his forces faces:

“Money & resources at the forefront of internal & external discussions. Unplanned for & totally unexpected changes to pensions @StaffsPolice means I need find £2m pounds savings to fund them next year. On top of £4m savings planned already.On top of 8 years austerity.”

Conservative response to Labour’s police funding claims

Responding, Nick Hurd MP, Minister of State for Policing, said:

“Our balanced approach means we have been able to protect police funding since 2015 and make available an extra £460 million this year.

“Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott have spent years trying to block measures to give the police the important powers they need – and they don’t know how to deliver the strong economy that’s needed to provide funding for the police.

“Overall crime is down by a third, and we are giving the police more powers to tackle violent crime so they can keep our communities safe.”

ENDS

For further information, please contact the Conservative Party Press Office on 020 7984 8121.

Notes to Editors

Since 2010, thanks to our strong economy, we’ve given our police the power and resources they need…

· Provided the police with the resources they need to keep us safe. In total, police budgets will increase by around £460 million in 2018-19 if PCCs use the new precept flexibility, meaning police have the resources they need to keep us safe. Labour don’t know how to handle the economy so could not do that (Hansard, Police Grant Report, 7 February 2018, link).

· Crimes traditionally measured by the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales are down by well over a third since 2010. Under the Conservatives, crime hit a record low (ONS, Crime in England and Wales: year ending March 2018, 18 October 2018,link).

There is more to do to keep our families, communities and country safe…

· Implementing a strategy to tackle terrorism following the attacks last year. We are bringing forward new legislation to allow the police and intelligence services to disrupt threats earlier and spending more than £2 billion on counter-terrorism each year (Home Office press release, 9 April 2018, link).

· Our £40 million Serious Violence Strategy is tackling violent crime to keep young people safe. It sets out a range of powerful actions to tackle the changing nature of crime, which will help to prevent young people from being drawn into crime in the first place, helping to build a safer, more caring society (Home Office, Press release, 9 April 2018, link).

· Introducing new measures to tackle serious violence. We will conduct a landmark review into drug misuse to turn up the dial on our efforts to tackle drugs, consult on introducing a statutory duty on individual agencies to work together on serious violence, and introduce a £200 million Youth Endowment Fund to focus on violent crime hotspot areas (Home Office, News story, 2 October 2018, link).

The Labour leadership have spent their entire careers attempting to block measures to give the police and intelligence agencies the important powers they need to keep us safe…

· Labour voted against making £460 million extra available to the police next year. Not a single Labour MP voted for the funding. Labour would not give our police the resources they need to keep us safe (Hansard, Police Grant Report, Division 116, 7 February 2018, link).

· Diane Abbott described counter terrorism laws as ‘pointless’. ‘We need protection from terrorism, but pointless laws serve no purpose’ (Labour Press, 16 March 2017, link).

· Diane Abbott said she wanted to dismantle the police. ‘We are not interested in reforming ... the police, armed services, judiciary and monarchy. We are about dismantling them and replacing them with our own machinery of class rule’ (The Guardian, 30 March 2005, link).

· Jeremy Corbyn said he is ‘not happy’ with UK police or security services operating a ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy in the event of a terror attack. He said: ‘I’m not happy with the shoot-to-kill policy in general - I think that is quite dangerous and I think can often can be counterproductive. I think you have to have security that prevents people firing off weapons where you can, there are various degrees for doing things as we know. But the idea you end up with a war on the streets is not a good thing’ (BBC News, 16 November 2015, link).

· Jeremy Corbyn says the security services don’t need more powers of investigation. ‘They have huge powers of investigation already, there is a question of always balancing the right to know, the need to know, with the right to privacy’ (Peston on Sunday, 26 March 2017).

· Jeremy Corbyn voted against the banning of Al-Qaeda six months before 9/11. He voted against The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) (Hansard, Statutory Instrument No.1261, 2001).