West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, David Jamieson has written to all Members of Parliament in the region ahead of today’s debate in the House of Commons to approve the Police Grant Settlement. MPs will have the opportunity to approve or reject the current proposed settlement which will see West Midlands Police lose £12.5m worth of spending power next year.
The Police Grant Settlement is the amount of money which the Home Office gives to fund policing and local police forces. It has been frozen which means that, due to inflation, there will be a real terms cut in the amount of money that police forces receive from government.
Just to standstill, West Midlands Police needs and additional £22m next year. Instead, Police and Crime Commissioners have been given the ability to increase the policing precept in council tax bills by £12 for band D property, with £9.5m being raised – all of which coming from local taxpayers.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, David Jamieson, said: “In the West Midlands, we raise the least money per head through council tax so rely heavily on the Home Office grant.
“I am calling on all MPs from across the region to vote against the government’s proposals and call for them to rethink the police funding settlement. I hope MPs ensure forces like West Midlands Police have the resources they need to keep people safe.
“West Midlands Police has lost over 2,000 police officers and £145m since 2010 and we are really seeing the effects now. The current settlement means we’ll still be losing officers.
“MPs have an opportunity to stand up for local forces like West Midlands Police and secure the funding we need to keep people safe.”
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