Cambridgeshire Police chief constable discusses officer funding at Parliament

Police funding was on the agenda when Cambridgeshire Chief Constable Nick Dean and police and crime commissioner Darryl Preston met with MPs in Parliament.

North West Cambridgeshire MP Shailesh Vara recently hosted a meeting with Mr Dean, Mr Preston and Huntingdon MP Jonathan Djanogly.

Among the issues discussed was the disparity in payment of the South East Allowance. This is an additional payment made to police officers in some forces to reflect the cost of living in the South East region. While the allowance is provided to officers in neighbouring areas, such as Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, it is not extended to Cambridgeshire officers.

Liz Groom, Chair of the Cambridgeshire Police Federation, also attended the meeting and spoke of the need to change the national police funding formula, which is the process by which financial resources are distributed to police forces more generally. It is felt that Cambridgeshire does not receive its due allocation and this can be rectified by reviewing the funding formula.

It was agreed that Mr Vara, along with Mr Djanogly and other Cambridgeshire MPs, would follow up some of the issues with the Home Secretary, James Cleverly MP, especially regarding the disparity in the allocation of the South East Allowance.

Mr Vara said: “I will be working with my colleague Jonathan Djanogly and other Cambridgeshire MPs to take matters up with James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, especially with respect to the payment of the South East Allowance.

“It simply isn’t right that while officers in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire receive this allowance, their colleagues in Cambridgeshire are excluded from it, despite the very close collaboration between the forces.”