Government hand robbers and dealers an easy time in Cheshire

Mar 28 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

ROBBERS and drug-dealers will get an easier ride under government moves to slash Cheshire’s spending on its force, residents were warned yesterday.

Cheshire Police Authority and MPs joined forces to condemn the threat to “cap” the authority, to prevent it hiking the police precept on council tax bills by an inflation-busting 17%.

Announcing the decision in the Commons, local government minister John Healey insisted it was necessary to “protect council taxpayers from excessive increases”.

Cheshire – together with seven other police authorities and a city council – has been given three weeks to respond, after which they face having to rebill residents with a lower rise, or cut budgets for future years.

The authority immediately protested that Chief Constable Peter Fahy had advised of the need to strengthen neighbourhood policing, as well as the force’s ability to combat organised crime and improve victim care.

If the cap is imposed, plans to recruit an extra 35 neighbourhood officers and 19 detectives to target the “Mr Bigs” will have to be abandoned, it warned.

Furthermore, Cheshire residents had “overwhelmingly” back- ed paying more for better policing in public meetings and a survey – increases of less than £1.50 a month for most households.

And the county would still have the lowest precept of any shire force, just £135.75 per year for a Band D household, compared to the national average of £168.41.

Peter Nurse, the authority’s chairman, said: “Cheshire people have said they are prepared to pay more council tax in order to see police services improve and to prevent cuts in officer numbers.

“We will be seeking urgent meetings with ministers to stress the views of Cheshire people and the need for investment to avoid major service cuts.”

Meanwhile, Cheshire MPs – both Labour and Conservative – ganged up on Mr Healey in the Commons to argue he was unfairly penalising the county, at the cost of effective crime-fighting.

Many MPs pointed out Cheshire was a victim of lower funding in the past – which meant a small increase in its budget produced a headline-grabbing 17% rise.

In response, Mr Healey agreed to meet a delegation of MPs and to “take into account” their arguments, before deciding Cheshire will be capped.

But he insisted the authority’s spending plans were unwarranted on the back of a “massive increase” in police numbers funded by the Government over the last decade.

Mr Healey told MPs: “Many households are finding their finances under pressure, particularly those, like pensioners, who have fixed incomes.

“So, with some authorities setting double digit increases, it is right we should step in to help protect council taxpayers.”

Strong support for Cheshire’s stance came from the Association of Police Authorities, which said: “Capping police authorities means those local communities’ voices have not been heard.”