Spending Review: North Yorkshire Police seek redundancy volunteers

Police control room staff are among those eligible to volunteer for redundancy

North Yorkshire Police has announced it is seeking volunteers for redundancy among its support staff as it braces itself for government spending cuts.

The force expects budget cuts of 25% over the next four years in response to Wednesday's Spending Review.

A voluntary redundancy scheme was announced to all 1,427 staff on Monday.

Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell said: "I have no doubt that we... will need to be smaller if we are to balance our books over the coming years."

The redundancy scheme is open to staff in support roles such as control room operators, finance, human resources and IT.

It also covers police community support officers (PCSOs).

It does not include any of the force's 1,547 police officers who cannot be made redundant because they are sworn officers of the Crown, said the force.

Mr Maxwell said: "The announcement of the voluntary redundancy scheme will enable individual staff members to consider if the time is right for them to move on from North Yorkshire Police.

"This is in advance of us having to invoke compulsory redundancies once the full impact of the Comprehensive Spending Review has been assessed.

"Some people may feel that such a move, in advance of knowing the detailed outcomes of the Comprehensive Spending Review, is not necessary.

"As chief constable I have previously indicated that I have no doubt that we, as an organisation, will need to be smaller if we are to balance our books over the coming years.

"On this basis I feel that it is in our staff's best interests to be offered a voluntary redundancy scheme at this time."

Decisions about who could be released under the scheme would be balanced against the need for the force to deliver the best possible service, he said.

Jane Kenyon, chairman of North Yorkshire Police Authority, said: "Sadly, with the scale of expenditure reduction we expect to see and with 86% of North Yorkshire Police spending being people, it is inevitable that staff numbers will need to reduce, although we are committed to maintaining frontline policing as much as we can.

"It is our intention to achieve this with as little pain to individuals and the organisation as possible, and at the same time achieve value for money."