Press campaign taken to top

12:54pm Friday 12th October 2007

Comments (1)   Have your say »

THE Press has taken its Fund Our Force campaign against drastic cuts in funding for North Yorkshire Police to the heart of Government.

York MP Hugh Bayley yesterday presented the newspaper's 1,000-signature petition - calling on the Home Secretary to abandon any plans to reduce the Government grant by up to £10 million - to MPs in the Commons at Westminster.

He told how the petition had enabled him to organise a meeting with the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, to discuss widespread concerns over the force's funding.

He also revealed how, during a brief conversation with the Minister on Wednesday night, he had been left convinced that any funding cuts would not be as bad as £10 million.

"However, I don't want any cut at all, which is why I asked for time to see the Home Secretary - to explain what the impact of a cut in funding would be in North Yorkshire," he said.

His comments came after this Press reporter travelled to the Home Office in London to hand the MP a dossier containing petition forms and coupons, and also articles published over the past fortnight about the campaign.

Mr Bayley said later: "What the petition has done is enable me to get a meeting with the home secretary to discuss the issues and find out the truth about the Home Office's funding plans for North Yorkshire Police."

The Press campaign was launched after Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell warned last month that a proposed new funding formula could result in the force's Government grant being cut by up to £10 million with "devastating" consequences.

In an exclusive article published by The Press earlier this month, the chief constable warned: "A £10 million cut in our budget will severely impact on our ability to deliver excellent community policing and to continually drive down crime."

The Police Federation has claimed that such a cut would be potentially catastrophic, MPs from across the political spectrum have vowed to fight any cuts and retailers in York have warned that the cuts could badly affect their battle against shoplifters.

Councillors at a full meeting of City of York Council last week signed the petition.

The Press has revealed that the cost of maintaining a full police service in North Yorkshire if the Government went ahead with its £10 million cut would be an extra £35 on council tax for each household - were the rises in the precept were not to be capped.

A consultation exercise on the funding proposals finished on Wednesday.