Government Can't Have Its Cake and Eat It over Surrey Police Funding

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 10th Nov 2004

Speaking ahead of the debate on Police Funding, taking place in the House of Commons today, Sue Doughty said:

"If the Government wants to make demands on how Surrey is policed it must put up or shut up. Surrey receives a lower percentage of government funding for its police services than any other force, leaving local people to stump up a massive 47% of the total cost compared with only 28.3% nationally. Expected changes in the funding formula mean that this could go up to over 50%.

"The Government wants to have its cake and eat it. It wants local accountability including the measurement of public satisfaction with the police, but at the same time to command and control our force. If the Government wants our police to meet their targets, funds will have to be found. Otherwise they should stop meddling in local policing and allow us to set our own priorities, not the Home Secretary's."