The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Talks at the top level of government have been called for in an effort to improve the way in which Lincolnshire’s police force is funded.
South Holland and the Deepings MP John Hayes has called for an urgent meeting with Home Secretary Theresa May, Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Hardwick and Lincolnshire’s chief constable Neil Rhodes.
The funding formula was in the national spotlight last week after Mr Rhodes warned Mrs May that the county might have to lose the equivalent of 236 officers to meet a predicted £10.4million spending shortfall by 2017/18.
Mr Hardwick also wrote to the Home Secretary to support Mr Rhodes, saying that the funding formula is “not fit for purpose”.
That is a view shared by Mr Hayes who wants to see a fairer system introduced which would reflect the challenges faced by rural counties such as Lincolnshire.
He said: “I have written to the chief constable, Alan Hardwick and Theresa May asking for an urgent meeting to highlight the issue, as I have many times before, and to finally see if we can get government – and this was an issue with the previous government too – in a place which is more appropriate in terms of the funding formula.”
He added: “Almost all the time I’ve been an MP [since 1997], we’ve never had a funding process which accurately reflects Lincolnshire’s circumstances and that is really at the heart of the problem.
“Our county has particular challenges. We’re fortunate in that we have relatively low levels of crime, but the sparsity of the population and the rurality of Lincolnshire makes delivery of public services very difficult.”
Mr Hayes hopes the meeting might take place early in the new year.
