NORTH Yorkshire Police is to set to get a boost in funding from the Home Office to improve policing in the county.

Home Secretary David Blunkett has announced that the force is to get an extra three per cent for 2003/2004, boosting its funding from central government for the year ahead to £70.4 million.

The extra cash is designed to fund better pay and conditions for police officers, put more bobbies on the beat, pay for state-of-the-art communications and provide community support officers and civilian staff. Humberside Police, which covers East Yorkshire will get a 4.8 per cent rise for 2003/2004, increasing its Home Office funding for that year to £111.1 million.

The North Yorkshire and Humberside forces will also receive a share of the £30 million rural policing fund. The fund helps forces stretched by covering large areas with relatively low populations. North Yorkshire receives about £2 million from the fund and the police authority, along with others, had to fight to save it from being scrapped.

Nationally, policing in England will receive a 6.2 per cent increase in funding for the year 2003/2004 and at least a four per cent increase in 2004/2005 and 2005/2006.

The increase in funding is to support the policing priorities laid out in the first National Policing Plan, which was unveiled by Mr Blunkett in Harrogate last month.

The plan sets national objectives for forces to measure their performance.

When the plan was unveiled, Mr Blunkett told police authority chiefs that forces must make street crime, burglary, drugs, anti-social behaviour and car crime the top priorities in their three-year local policing plans.

At the time, Jane Kenyon, chairman of North Yorkshire Police Authority warned that unless the Home Secretary's plans were backed by extra government cash, council taxpayers could be set to bear the brunt.

Mr Blunkett said of the newly-announced funding: "We promised reward for reform and today we delivered on that pledge. This is good news for communities in North Yorkshire and Humberside."

Updated: 10:29 Saturday, December 07, 2002