The Mayor of London, , and the Mayor of Greater
Manchester, , today joined forces in their
campaign to tell the Chancellor to use the Budget on 22
November to end the police funding crisis and end the risk
to public safety.
In a letter to , the Mayors spelled out
their warning in the strongest possible terms, urging the
Chancellor to end the real-terms cuts to policing budgets since
2010, and to put public safety first.
This year, both cities have suffered horrific terrorist attacks,
and the police response has been phenomenal – with officers going
above and beyond the call of duty to keep our citizens safe.
But, as counter-terrorism experts warn that the number of attacks
and attempted attacks will continue to increase with both overall
crime and violent crime rising across the country - the two
Mayors are extremely concerned that the police’s ability to keep
their cities safe and to prevent and respond to any future
terrorist attacks is being put at risk by the funding crisis
facing forces across England and Wales.
Police force budgets have been reduced in real terms since 2010,
while costs have continued to rise and inflation is currently at
2.9 per. The Chair of The National Police Chiefs' Council, Chief
Constable Sara Thornton, has warned that even Counter Terror
funding for policing is being cut by more than seven per cent in
real terms over the next three years.
In London, the Met has had to make £600 million of cuts since
2010, and must find a further £400 million of savings by 2021.
This has already led to the loss of 30 per cent of police staff
posts – from 14,330 to 9,985, and 65 per cent of police community
support officers posts – from 4,607 to 1,591, plus most of the
capital’s police station front counters and 120 police buildings.
The latest projections show that if the funding crisis does not
end now, police officer numbers in the capital could fall below
27,500 by 2021 – a dangerous 19-year low which presents a serious
risk to the safety of Londoners.
In Greater Manchester, the police service has faced cuts of £215m
since 2010, which has resulted in the loss of 2,000 police
officers, a 25 per cent reduction on 2010 levels, and 1,000
police staff.
The Mayors are clear that this is simply unsustainable and the
only answer is a real-terms increase in police funding.
Writing to the Chancellor today, the Mayor of London, , and the Mayor of Greater
Manchester, , said:
“As the Mayors of London and Greater Manchester, we are
extremely worried that the police’s ability to keep our cities
safe, and to prevent and respond to the risk of future terrorist
attacks, is being put in jeopardy by the current funding crisis
facing forces across England and Wales.
“As you know, counter-terrorism experts are warning that
the increase in attacks and attempted attacks this year is not a
blip, but a sustained rise. And this is against the backdrop of
crime rising across the country and violent crime rising even
faster.
“We urge you to use the Budget on 22 November to end
the real-term cuts that our police service have undergone since
2010, and to put public safety first. To put it bluntly, if you
continue with real-terms cuts you will be putting at risk the
safety of those who live, work and visit our cities without an
end to the years of real-term cuts.
“We implore you to use the Budget to ensure the continued
safety of the people who live and work in our great cities and
the millions of visitors we receive each year. We need a
real-terms increase in police funding, ensuring that the national
and international work that the police in our cities do on behalf
of the rest of the country is properly funded.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- London has suffered four terrorist attacks this year, at
Westminster in March, London Bridge in June, Finsbury Park in
June and Parsons Green in September.
- In Manchester, a suicide bomber targeted fans leaving
an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena in
May.
