Agenda item

Agenda item

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) priorities for additional resources

Item for discussion

Minutes:

The Chair reported that the purpose of this item had been to examine the priorities for the additional funding for GMP which it was proposed to raise through the Council Tax precept.  He informed the Committee that the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA’s) Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime had declined to attend the meeting and that the representative of GMP had stated that some of the information requested was not yet known and, therefore, he had also declined to attend at this stage.  The Chair proposed that this item be considered again at the Committee’s meeting on 23 May 2019, when further information would be available, including whether the precept had been agreed and whether GMP would be receiving any additional resources from the national government.  In response to a Member’s question, he confirmed that the intention was to invite the Deputy Mayor to the May meeting.

 

The Deputy Leader reported that he represented the Council on the Police and Crime Panel, which had met on 31 January 2019 to consider the precept, but that he thought it was also useful for this Committee to scrutinise the precept and how the additional funding would be used.  He reported that the national government had acknowledged that the police were underfunded but had decided that additional funding should be raised through a precept on Council Tax.  He outlined the funding issues which GMP faced, reporting that it had lost over 2000 police officers over the past 9 years, in addition to 1000 support staff, including Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).  He reported that at the Police and Crime Panel meeting he had proposed a commitment, which the Panel had supported, on the issues which should be prioritised with these additional resources.  He informed Members that these included increasing neighbourhood policing, improving safety on the transport network and in the night-time economy, improving the 101 non-emergency police number and other ways that the public could contact the police, tackling serious and violent crime and violence against women and girls and improving sickness levels within GMP.

 

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

 

  • The impact of losing 1000 support staff in diverting police officers from frontline duties;
  • To seek assurance from the Deputy Leader that he would advocate for the needs of the Manchester area;
  • The impact of football matches on the city centre and police and Council resources; and
  • That information on police priorities should be communicated to residents in a clear, simple way.

 

The Deputy Leader recognised the greater demands that Manchester experienced due to being the regional centre, noting that 13 of the 50 new police officers had been assigned to Manchester.  He outlined how police prioritised work based on threat, harm and risk.  He reported that football was a great draw to the city but that it also created some issues for the city and that, while the football clubs contributed to the cost of policing around the stadium, it also had effects elsewhere.  He reported that the Council was working with GMP and the football clubs on this issue and that he would pass on the Committee’s concerns.  He agreed that it was important to communicate police priorities to residents in an appropriate way.

 

Decision

 

To consider this issue at the Committee’s next meeting on 23 May 2019.