Merseyside Police must cut £15m from budget by 2028, PCC says

Ms Spurrell said the region was "desperately underfunded" and she had taken every opportunity to lobby ministers

Merseyside Police has "significant funding challenges ahead" and will need to make further cuts, the region's police and crime commissioner has said.

In a report, Labour's Emily Spurrell said she had approved £2.9m of cuts for 2023/24, but the force would need to save a further £15.3m by 2027/28.

She said Merseyside Police made cuts of about £3m in the last financial year and was "desperately underfunded".

The Home Office said it had pledged an extra £13.6m to the force this year.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said Ms Spurrell's report revealed about £2m of the cuts for the coming year related to roles that had been vacant for "a significant time" and were no longer required, while an additional £113,000 was saved by closing facilities deemed surplus to requirements.

It also showed that two former police stations, in Garston and Heswall, were sold during the last year.

She said in the document that given the "current uncertainty around police funding and the ongoing challenges we face, I have taken the decision to review the current estate strategy and our future plans to ensure value for money and financial diligence".

Ms Spurrell said that work included "ensuring all our assets, such as our community police stations... are being used in the best possible way to ensure a visible, proactive service" and that a revised estate strategy would be published in the coming months.

She said the region was "desperately underfunded" and she had taken every opportunity to lobby ministers and officials to ensure it received a "fair share" of all funds allocated to policing.

Ms Spurrell added that despite "significant challenges", His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary had recently found the force was delivering value for money for residents.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We are giving the police the resources they need to tackle crime, and through our police recruitment campaign we have more police officers in England and Wales than ever before and Merseyside Police has recruited 724 additional uplift officers.

"We have confirmed a total police funding settlement of up to £17.2bn in 2023/24, an increase of up to £313.8m when compared to 2022/23."

She added: "This includes up to £413.7m for Merseyside Police, an increase of up to £13.6m."

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