Budget ‘snub’ for police funding is slammed
COUNCIL leader Richard Farnell and the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham have criticised the government after police funding wasn’t included in the autumn Budget.
Frontline GMP officers would feel ‘demoralised,’ said Mr Burnham, while Coun Farnell called for ‘swingeing cuts’ to police budgets to be reversed.
Mr Burnham had previously written to Theresa May urging her to boost funding after years of austerity cuts.
But in a budget which saw stamp duty axed for the vast majority of first-time homebuyers, no mention was made of funding for police.
GMP has lost 2,000 officers and another 1,000 civilian workers, with bosses now having to find extra savings worth around £26m for 2017/18.
Mr Burnham said: “The failure to act over police funding, I think, is a monumental mistake,” said Mr Burnham. “If I was a frontline officer I would feel quite demoralised.
“After everything they have been through this year, for there to be no mention of frontline policing, it does not feel fair.”
Coun Farnell said: “While the extra money for housing and the homeless was welcome, most of the cash announced in the budget was not new, just recycled figures. It’s a familiar trick with this government.
“It remains to be seen whether the measures announced in the budget will increase in the number of houses being built to tackle the housing crisis. Rochdale needs to be building around 700 affordable homes a year - both to buy and to rent - and developers are building nowhere near that.
“Action to tackle house builders not developing land they currently own is long overdue, as is extra cash to help with the additional costs of developing brownfield sites.
“Most first time buyers in our borough will not benefit from the changes in stamp duty as the majority buy homes under the existing £125,000 threshold.
“The extension for another year of the £1,000 business rates relief for pubs is good news.
“But there was nothing in the budget to reverse the swingeing cuts to police budgets. Rochdale alone has lost around 200 police officers since 2010. Crime is rising as a result of these damaging cuts.
“And there was no help whatsoever for councils struggling to meet the spiralling costs of looking after our growing elderly population. Rochdale needs around £20m to meet the growing demands on our adult care service. The elderly and infirm were completely ignored in this Tory budget.
“And the extra cash for the NHS is nowhere near enough to avert another beds crisis in our hospitals over the winter.”