The Minister for Policing and the Fire Service (Brandon
Lewis):...Decisions on the use of resources and on law
enforcement in individual areas is of course a matter for chief
constables. It is for them to determine their priorities and
policies, along with their Police
and Crime Commissioners. I believe that the policing plan of
the Wiltshire police and crime commissioner was published today.
PCCs such as Lincolnshire’s want to get a grip on issues such
as this, and I commend them for appreciating that in representing
their communities they are understanding what is important to those
communities. That demonstrates why devolving powers to locally
accountable, locally elected PCCs was such an important step.
Members have mentioned funding this evening. Let me remind them
that we are firmly committed to reforming the current police
funding arrangements, because they are out of date. We want a
fairer system that is up to date and, importantly, is
transparently able to reflect the way in which crime is being
dealt with locally. We are at the moment taking forward a
detailed engagement with the sector itself—police, chief
constables, Police and Crime Commissioners, and experts
and academics in the field. I have met a range of PCCs and chief
constables to discuss the issues they think should be covered. A
number of them, including representatives whose Members have
spoken this evening, have raised the issue of making sure that
the costs and challenges that rural policing faces are reflected
in the formula. No new formula will be implemented without public
consultation; there will be a full process of that, but it will
come at the end of this substantial piece of work that we are
doing, to make sure that it is fully informed. I have met the PCC
for Wiltshire, who has made this point about his own force very
directly to me, as has my hon. Friend the Member for
Salisbury...
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