Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of recent changes to the funding of Greater Manchester Police on crime rates in that region.

The funding settlement for the police is a challenging one. However, as the
vast majority of forces, including Greater Manchester Police are
demonstrating, it is manageable. The latest report from Her Majesty's
Inspectorate of Constabulary (Policing in Austerity: Rising to the Challenge
July 2013) found that crime is falling and the proportion of officers on the
front line is increasing. The Government has protected the police from the
additional 2014/15 reductions that were announced in the Chancellor's December
Autumn Statement, which means the police will face a 3.3% cash reduction in
central Government funding (5.75% in real terms) compared to 2013/14. Once
future police precept income is taken into account, the reduction in overall
funding is even lower.

In the Greater Manchester Police force areas, recorded crime fell by 7% between
September 2012 and September 2013.