Funding Crisis As Policing Board Rejects Cuts

A head-on disagreement is looming as the Northern Ireland Policing Board confirmed they are to seek an urgent meeting with the NIO over funding shortfalls.

After a special session with the PSNI Chief Constable to discuss the funding pressures facing the force on Thursday, members were presented with an options paper to address the current funding crisis.

Speaking afterwards, Board Chairman Professor Sir Desmond Rea, said the cuts were not acceptable.

"The Board is not prepared to accept what has been brought forward and has asked for an urgent meeting with the Minister.

"If these issues are not dealt with now they will continue to be an issue and Government have to meet responsibilities in respect of this," he warned last night.

Following detailed discussion the Board members unanimously agreed the proposals were not acceptable and agreed a motion recording, 'The Board has received a report from the PSNI on the pressures on the police budget, and discussed this at a meeting with the Chief Constable. The Board cannot accept the impacts of the additional proposed cuts, and seeks an urgent meeting with the Minister as these pressures are outside the control of the Chief Constable.'

Speaking about the meeting and the discussions, the Chairman also said: "As a Board we have been working with the Chief Constable and his finance team to sort this funding crisis out.

"It is important to emphasise that this pressure is largely outside the direct control of the Police Service and includes the civil service equal pay claim announced by the Executive, changes to the national police pension scheme announced by the Home Secretary and historical hearing loss claims.

"Whilst the policing budget itself is substantial, the fact that 81.2% of these costs relate directly to staffing leaves little room for finding additional savings; particularly when savings had to be found earlier in the year to meet cuts necessary following the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review," he said, noting that, in all of the discussions to date, the Board has been mindful not only of the need to ensure that problems are not stacked up for future years but also to minimise the impact on front line service to the community.

"But with cuts, there are always knock on effects and achieving savings of this level over such a short period of time would have an impact that is not acceptable to this Board," he concluded.

(BMcC)