West Yorkshire Police cash boost will not plug gap - deputy mayor

West Yorkshire Police has a 10% vacancy rate for PCSOs and police officers, figures show

A £40m cash boost for West Yorkshire Police will do "nothing" to close its funding gap, the politician in charge of the county's policing has said.

Funding for the West Yorkshire force would rise from £574.8m in 2023-24 to £615.5m in 2024-25, Policing Minister Chris Philp confirmed on Thursday.

But Alison Lowe, the county's deputy mayor, said it had lost £140m since 2010 and faced an £11m deficit in 2024.

That figure could rise much higher in 2024-25, she warned.

Alison Lowe warned that back office functions at West Yorkshire Police would "slowly erode"

Ms Lowe, who oversees policing in West Yorkshire, told BBC Radio Leeds that the county's force would have to use £6m from its reserves to plug the gap.

She said the government had done "nothing" to help it deal with the remaining £5m deficit and believed, depending on inflation and other external factors, it could rise as high as £20m in 2024-25.

Ms Lowe said: "The more the deficit continues, the more pressure there will be on PCSOs and police staff.

"So we have to have police officers at the numbers we're funded for, but all the back office functions will slowly erode and disappear.

"What that means is that police officers will start to do some of those roles. So the benefit, the visibility we all need from police officers, will decrease as they're filling in those contact centre roles - all the roles police staff could be filling."

West Yorkshire Police already has a 10% vacancy rate for PCSOs and police officers and an 8% vacancy rate for office staff, figures show.

The West Yorkshire force had taken on 974 extra officers in recent years, Policing Minister Chris Philp said

Policing Minister Chris Philp acknowledged that some of the extra money just announced was raised through the local police precept, which is the amount people pay for the police through their council tax.

He confirmed those with responsibility for policing would be able to increase that by up to £13 per household next year.

Mr Phelp said that was on top of the extra funding already provided for a 7% rise in pay for police officers.

The minister also said that over recent years, West Yorkshire Police had taken on 974 extra officers, meaning there were more officers on the force than at any time in its history.

The government has said that police forces across England and Wales would receive up to £922m in extra funding next year as it continued its efforts to cut crime and keep communities safe.