Government failure to fund police pay rise will damage local policing says West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner
The Police and Crime Commissioner has said that the government's failure to fund a 'deserved' pay rise for officers will cause £1million of cuts in policing in the region this year.
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced on Monday that Police officers will received a pay increase of 4.75 per cent this year, but the county's force says that "analysis suggests the Government will not fund this rise in full and in West Mercia the unfunded commitment will leave the police facing cuts of almost £1m in 2024/25."
West Mercia Police PCC John Campion - who represents the Conservative party - believes officers deserve their pay rise, and says he will be writing to the Government again to discuss cuts.
He said: "Our police officers and staff are well deserving of a pay rise given their extraordinary work.
"However, the Government is looking to take the credit without paying the bill. Not fully funding this increase will force local police to make urgent and unnecessary cuts to services and undermines work to keep our communities safe.
"Along with other areas, in West Mercia we have followed previous Government advice in budgeting for a pay rise in line with inflation this year.
"This decision sees the new Government move the goalposts and effectively impose unnecessary cuts on police forces nationwide. I wrote to the new Government previously to raise this concern and will do so again now.
"Supporting our police officers and staff must be balanced with protecting our local services."
