Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Paul Howell and Steve Tuckwell

Monday 18th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Paul Howell (Sedgefield) (Con)]

2. What steps she is taking to increase police resources.

[Steve Tuckwell (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Con)]

4. What steps she is taking to increase police resources.

[The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire (Chris Philp)]

I am sure that the whole House will join me in sending our very sincere condolences to the family of Sergeant Graham Saville, who a week or two ago so tragically lost his life in the line of duty, saving another in the constituency of my right hon. Friend the Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick). Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. He made the ultimate sacrifice, and we are grateful to him.

To answer my hon. Friends’ questions, total police funding this year stands at £17.2 billion, a record level. Frontline policing received an extra £550 million this year compared with last year, and I am pleased to report once again that we have a record number of police officers across England and Wales: 149,566, which is 3,500 more than we ever had under the last Labour Government.