PCC and MP slam 'farcical' and 'inadequate' funding award for police force

'SAFETY OF RESIDENTS IS IN JEOPARDY'

- By STUART ARNOLD

TORY MP Matt Vickers has joined Labour Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey in blasting a settlement received by Cleveland Police for the forthcoming financial year.

Mr Storey said after calculations the main police grant announced in provisional form by the Government just before Christmas - effectively amounted to an increase of 2.9%, which he said was the lowest rise in the country.

The calculations considered by the PCC included a one-off £1.4m additionally received by the force in 2025/26 to fund an increase in officer pay, which is not being renewed in 2026/27.

Mr Storey said the “farcical” award did not match inflation and left Cleveland Police with a £2.4m funding shortfall for the next financial year in order to balance the books.

Stockton West Conservative MP Matt Vickers, who is the party's shadow policing minister, said he agreed with the PCC's criticism and the settlement was “inadequate” and “unfair”.

The Home Office said Cleveland Police was receiving a share of £50m made additionally available for forces for neighbourhood policing with officers being "moved out from behind desks and back into communities".