Police funds claim not true, says PCC

GOVERNMENT‘BURIED HEAD IN SAND’

THE government has been accused of “playing fast and loose” with police funding over the past seven years by a North police boss.

Ron Hogg, police and crime commissioner for County Durham and Darlington and a former deputy chief constable of Cleveland Police, disputed ministers’ claims this week that funding for law enforcement has been protected, saying they had “buried their heads in the sand” on the issue of police cuts.

It follows similar comments from Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Dame Vera Baird QC, who spoke out earlier this week to provide “on the ground clarity” about funding cuts the force has had to contend with.

Mr Hogg said: “Funding for local police forces has not been protected, despite the government’s claims. Durham saw the grant that it gets from the government reduce by over £1m this year.

“The government expects the shortfall to be made up from increased council tax paid by local people so that the amount of money we have to keep people safe remains the same. It takes no account of inflation and increased costs that affect us all. Nor does it take into account rising demands from cyber crime, mental health or domestic abuse cases.”

Mr Hogg said the force would “continue to make efficiencies” but called on the government to “bring an end to austerity”.

He added: “Since 2010, under Theresa May’s leadership at the Home Office, the government has played fast and loose with police funding.

“All considerations and arguments from police professionals, staff associations and police and crime commissioners have been simply ignored, as the government has put its head in the sand regarding this particular problem.”

On Friday, Ms Baird called on the Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Prime Minister Theresa May to sort the funding problem.

She said that, from 2010 to today, Northumbria Police force has had to make savings and cuts of £136m to manage reductions in funding.

And Cleveland Police lost 406 officers between 2009 and 2016 – a fall of 23.6%, on top of one in seven PCSO jobs being cut from the force.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The government protected overall police spending in real terms since Spending Review 2015.

“Police forces continue to have the resources they need to cut crime and keep our communities safe.”

The Home Office also said the 2017/18 funding settlement provides stable funding for police forces, with direct resource funding protected to at least flat cash levels compared to 2015/16.

It claims this means that no police and crime commissioner, who maximised their local police council tax precept in 2016/17 and 2017/18, is seeing a reduction in their level of funding compared with 2015/16. PCC Ron Hogg says police in County Durham have seen funding cut