The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Lincolnshire Police could be facing a £21 million shortfall in the next two years, the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Marc Jones has said.
It follows central government telling police forces across the country they are the ones that need to fund an upcoming pensions shortfall.
That shortfall in Lincolnshire is estimated to be at least £1.5 million next year, which is on top of an existing £17 million shortfall.
The latest cash crisis is something Deputy Chief Constable Craig Naylor said would be a “significant threat to policing and safety in Lincolnshire”.
Marc Jones says the extra pension funds add to the £17 million funding gap Lincolnshire Police Force faces following previous cuts to the funding it receives from central government.
He told The Voice: “While I recognise the importance of ensuring the appropriate funds are available to pay former police officers their proper pensions this change puts unbearable pressure on an already challenging financial situation.
“Even after all of the effort and money invested in recent years to innovate and transform Lincolnshire Police into one of the most forward thinking and efficient forces in the country we are still faced with a funding gap of £17m over the next two years that our depleted reserves simply cannot meet.
“This extra cost pressure could boost that number to an incredible £21m that can only be met by additional grant from central government, contributions from local tax payers and or a total reorganisation of the force and a reduced level of service to the people of Lincolnshire.
“I will do all that can be done to meet this challenge and will work with the Chief Constable and Lincolnshire MPs to explore all options. Lincolnshire is a safe county and we must all pull together to keep it that way.”
Last week, DCC Naylor took to Twitter to warn of the issues surrounding the changes to who funds the pension shortfall.
Under new measures police forces will become responsible for pension contributions previously provided by the government.
Officers are already worried that the money will have to be directed from frontline services.
Naylor said in a tweet: “This is a significant threat to policing and safety in Lincolnshire.
“The impact of this and existing underfunding will lead to a further loss of service as we have to reduce our expenditure.
“As one of the lowest funded forces this makes the impact more severe.
“We are already stretching our resources to the maximum.
“Dealing with challenges from other service reductions and increased complexity in crimes we investigate. Increased demand associated with vulnerability means our ability to be proactive continues to decline.
“(These are) Challenging times.”
The views were echoed by Spalding Insepctor Gareth Boxall who said in a Tweet it was “concerning news”.
