Police funding: Opposition day debate, Wednesday 28 March 2018
An Opposition Day debate on Police funding is scheduled for Wednesday 28 March 2018. The subject of the debate has been selected by the Leader of the Opposition.
The text of the motion, in the name of the Leader of the Opposition, is:
That this House asserts that the loss of 21,000 police officers, 18,000 police staff and 6,800 police community support officers since 2010 in addition to the reduction in the number of armed officers has damaged community safety and public security; is concerned that central government funding to local police forces will fall in real terms for the eighth consecutive year in 2018-19 and in addition that there will be a £54m shortfall in funding for counter-terror policing; notes with alarm the assessment of the National Police Chiefs Council that this will mean tough choices for policing in the year ahead; supports the conclusion of the UK Statistics Authority that the Prime Minister could have led the public to conclude incorrectly that the Government were providing an additional £450m for police spending in 2018-19; and calls on the Government to take steps to increase officer numbers by 10,000 and to fulfil the full counter-terrorism policing requirements laid out by police chiefs for the year ahead and to report to the House by Oral Statement and written report before 19 April 2018 on what steps it is taking to comply with this resolution.
Library briefing on Police funding
Police funding, Commons Library briefing paper CBP-7279, 26 February 2016
Further briefings from the Library on police workforce numbers
Police Service Strength, Commons Library briefing paper CBP-0664, 27 March 2018