Lib Dems Take Action On Crime

Commenting today on labour's poor track record on crime and policing, Paul Holmes, Liberal Democrat MP for Chesterfield said:

"The Labour Government have refused to properly fund Derbyshire's police force. Despite introducing a new funding formula last year to give more money to under-funded forces, now the £5.2 million owed to Derbyshire's police is being denied.

"In December I tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons calling on the Government to give Derbyshire's police the funding they deserve. Since then not a single Derbyshire Labour MP has supported this motion.

"Not only are our police under-funded, they are under-resourced. The Government promised 280 Community Support Officers but this has now been cut to 160. "When will the Labour Government deliver on their promises and give Derbyshire's police the funds and resources they need? "The Liberal Democrats in Chesterfield Council have provided their own Community Safety Officers to work with the police, increased CCTV and introduced an Alcohol Free Zone in Chesterfield Market Place. "All these measures were refused by Labour Councillors when they had control of the Council. Clearly Labour are not taking crime seriously while Liberal Democrats are introducing effective measures to cut crime and support the police."

The full text of Paul Holmes' EDM on police funding in Derbyshire reads:

That this house applauds the work of the Derbyshire Constabulary and its achievements in cutting crime on a limited budget; acknowledges that the Government's spending formula for 2005-6 indicated that councils across Derbyshire should have received an extra £20.75 million of Government grant; recognises that the Derbyshire police force should have had an extra £5.2 million this year and £5.7 million next year; deplores the reduction in promised Police Community Support Officers for Derbyshire from 280 to 160; believes that over the next two years up to 2008 Government funding plans will require a further £6 million of under funding or cuts in Derbyshire police; considers that this funding level will require a reduction in police officer numbers, less resources for neighbourhood policing and reduced opportunities to make full use of advances in forensic science that would otherwise