Greater Manchester communities face another £41m cuts to policing

Greater Manchester’s Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd

There will be hundreds of fewer police officers on the streets of Greater Manchester next year as a result of unrelenting Government cuts, the region’s Police and Crime Commissioner has announced.

Under the current Government’s plans, by 2020 Greater Manchester Police will have seen its budget slashed by almost half, compared to 2010.

The figures have been revealed as Tony Lloyd announces how the dwindling policing budget has been slashed by another £41m over the next 12 months.

Mr Lloyd said: “The way this Government is relentlessly continuing with its cuts to policing is unfair to the people of Greater Manchester and is making it more and more difficult for Greater Manchester Police to provide an effective service.

“We have already lost 1,100 police officers from the streets of Greater Manchester and this year we are facing another cut of £41m, which there will be hundreds of fewer police officers on our streets. How does the Government expect GMP to keep communities safe if we haven’t got enough bobbies on the beat?

“Ministers continue to justify cuts to policing by claiming that crime continues to fall. In Greater Manchester, this simply isn’t true. Crime has risen by 8% this year, particularly violent crime and domestic violence. While Greater Manchester Police have faced up to the financial challenges by transforming how policing is delivered and making sure vulnerable people are protected, the Government has to recognise that they are putting communities at risk.”

On top of the cuts imposed by Whitehall, this year the Government has clawed back almost £10m to pay for its pet projects – more than £3m more than what it took from the police budget last year. This is money that could have paid for 200 police officers in Greater Manchester.

“To be losing almost half the policing budget by 2020 is unpalatable. What makes it even more galling is how the Government continues to claw back millions from our police to pay for pet projects that have no benefit to the people of Greater Manchester,” says Tony.
One piece of good news for Greater Manchester residents is that this year Tony has decided to freeze the police element of the council tax bill. That means the average household will pay just £2.93 towards the cost of policing – one of the lowest in the country.

“It may be small consolation to local people that I’m not asking them to pay any extra towards local policing this year, but the reality is that they are being forced to pay more in other ways with cost of living increases and cuts to other public services all having an impact on neighbourhoods,” adds Mr Lloyd.

Meanwhile, Mr Lloyd is also bringing together political, civic and community leaders from across Greater Manchester next week to look at the real impact these cuts are having on safety in our neighbourhoods.

Attendees will hear from Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy, local authorities, housing associations and the voluntary sector on how services have been hit since 2010, including what changes they’ve had to make to service delivery and what this means for local people.

Mr Lloyd said: “The police aren’t alone in this – statutory organisations and the voluntary sector have also seen their budgets slashed with more cuts to come. This event is a the start of a conversation I want to have with organisations, agencies and local people across Greater Manchester to see how we can work together to make sure these cuts do not undermine the safety of our neighbourhoods.”

The event takes place on Monday 16 February at 2pm in the Elizabethan Suite, Bury Town Hall, Knowsley Street, BL9 0SW. It is free to attend but places are extremely limited and you must book your place by emailing info@gmpcc.org.uk