Javid ‘must deliver on 10-year funding strategy for police’

IT WOULD be “unforgivable” if politicians fail to act on “desperately needed” long-term funding for policing, the head of the body which represents rank-and-file officers has warned.

John Apter, national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, inset, has called on Ministers to rewrite the rules on funding by introducing “at least” a 10-year strategy for budgets to allow forces to properly plan for the future instead of sticking to the current annual review.

Mr Apter said the onus is on Chancellor Sajid Javid to “deliver”.

He said: “The Chancellor, who was the Home Secretary before, he knows. He’s told me he understands the pressures, the difficulties that policing has been under. “Well, he’s now got to deliver. “He’s got to demonstrate on behalf of the Government that they have listened and they are now going to put something into action because if they don’t it will be unforgivable.

“I’ve never shied away from, and I make no apology for, holding politicians to account and calling them out if I think they’ve damaged policing or they’ve not fulfilled their responsibility, which is keeping the public of this country as safe as possible.”

Mr Apter’s comments come after revealed calls are being made for a radical rethink of the Government’s funding formula given to police forces covering vast swathes of the countryside to ensure rural areas have enough officers to deal with crime.

Analysis by the National Rural Network reveals rural forces receive nearly a quarter less funding per head of population than those covering urban areas. In 2018/2019 a predominantly rural area received £167.01 per head of population, compared to a predominantly urban area which had £206.20. A Government spokeswoman said Ministers are committed to ensuring “every part of the country” tackles crime effectively.

The spokeswoman added: “The Government used the existing funding formula as the basis for the first year recruitment targets in order to get the police officer uplift under way swiftly. Officer allocations for years two and three are still to be agreed and will be announced in due course.”

Earlier this month, Mr Javid promised a spending spree to help “left-behind” parts of the country when he announced that the first post-Brexit Budget would take place on March 11.