Jonathan Gullis MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke has unreservedly welcomed the Government’s biggest investment in policing for a decade, as confirmed by the Home Secretary.
The £700 million investment nationally, equates to a cash increase of over £14 million in Staffordshire compared to last year and will not only support the biggest recruitment drive in decades, but will also help drive a number of priorities important to communities locally and nationally.
This includes investments in:
- Serious organised crime, such as county lines or violent offences.
- Protection for vulnerable people
- Crime prevention to make streets safe
- Transforming policing for the digital age.
PCCs will have access to:
- £8,702 million in government grants, which is £667 million more than the previous year
- flexibility to increase local funding in England by setting the council tax referendum limit to £10 for a typical (Band D) property.
- if all PCCs in England maximise this flexibility and ask average households to contribute less than 20 pence per week, this would generate around £248 million in additional funding for forces in England next year.
The settlement includes the £750 million announced by the Chancellor last year to enable forces to meet their officer recruitment targets.
The bulk will go directly to PCCs (£700 million). The remainder will be spent nationally on capabilities and infrastructure to support the recruitment drive.
This includes investments to improve the recruitment process including training and specialist schemes to ensure the right officers end up in the right roles.
Speaking after the announcement, Jonathan said:
“This Government is delivering on its commitment to recruit 20,000 additional officers over the next three years to protect the public and keep our community safe. We need to give the Police the resources it needs to crack down on crime in our community.”
“I look forward to working closely with North Staffordshire police and I will continue to advocate on their behalf in Westminster. As we have seen with this investment, tackling crime is a priority and I am pleased that the Government is delivering on this issue.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel said:
“This government is delivering on the people’s priorities by giving policing the biggest funding increase in a decade.”
“It will mean more officers tackling the crime blighting our streets, so people can feel safe in their communities. The police must now make full use of this significant investment to deliver for the public.”