Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent Excerpts

Monday 15th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

As I say, we are very pleased to see the right hon. and learned Gentleman, and we look forward to hearing from him ere long.

[Ruth Smeeth (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Lab)]

12. What recent discussions he has had with police and crime commissioners on (a) the merits of and (b) investment in community and neighbourhood policing.

[The Minister for Policing and the Fire Service (Mr Nick Hurd)]

As funding for the police increases, we have made it clear that we want to see more consistent, proactive neighbourhood policing, which is the cornerstone of the British policing model.

[Ruth Smeeth]

I thank the Minister for his reply, but my police and crime commissioner has cut the number of warranted officers by more than 500 since 2010, and, despite the efforts of my brilliant local police, only two are now allocated to Kidsgrove. We have seen a spike in threatening antisocial behaviour in the past month, with some people now refusing to go to the local park. I will not have no-go areas in my constituency, so what will the Minister do?

[Mr Hurd]

I am a bit puzzled by what the hon. Lady says, because I have spoken to her police and crime commissioner, the excellent Matthew Ellis, and he is extremely animated about how he is going to use the additional money from the funding settlement to move 100 more people into neighbourhood policing by the year end and to get behind proactive policing to disrupt crime, including drug dealing, in hotspots. I hope that she welcomes such plans, and she certainly needs to sit down and discuss them with him.