Oral Answers to Questions

David Crausby Excerpts

Wednesday 16th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for making a very obvious point that has not been raised by those who have been talking about the sort of discussions we are to have across Parliament. I want to see what will secure the support of the House, but of course we have to ensure that it can secure the support of the EU. This is a treaty and agreement between two parties, and, as I said last night, once we have those ideas from the House, I will take them to the EU.

[Sir David Crausby (Bolton North East) (Lab)]

Q11. In March 2010, Greater Manchester police had 8,148 police officers and the chief constable wanted 10,000. By June 2018, we had 6,199, and the numbers are still going down. The incidence of crime is rising right across Bolton, and is it any wonder? More importantly, is it acceptable that the police are failing to attend violent attacks and systematic drug-dealing locations?

[The Prime Minister]

As I said earlier, the Government have made more money available to police forces. Nearly £1 billion extra will be available to them next year. But, of course, it is not just about the money that is available to police forces; it is about the power that the police have. That is why we have introduced the Offensive Weapons Bill, and why we continually take action to ensure that the police have the power that they need to keep us safe.