GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE BUDGET

Motion Text

That this House notes with concern reports in the Manchester Evening News that Greater Manchester Police face a budget shortfall of up to £14 million and that this could result in a reduction of up to 200 police officers, reducing overall numbers to under 8,000, the minimum figure that Chief Constable Michael Todd has said is needed effectively to cut crime; welcomes plans by the Police Authority to come to London for crisis talks to avoid damaging cuts to the police budget and urges the Government to bridge the budget shortfall; further notes that the Chief Constable has said that his ideal force would consist of 11,000 police officers; and believes that an additional 3,000 officers on the streets of Greater Manchester would be a more effective method of tackling crime and disorder than the Government's proposed identity card scheme; and therefore urges the Government to abandon plans for identity cards in favour of more police on the streets of Greater Manchester and throughout the rest of the country.