Police told to stop asking for more cash to fight crime and 'do their bit' to repair the economy by Labour minister ahead of Spending Review
Police chiefs demanding more money must make do and 'do their bit' to help repair the economy, a senior minister said today ahead of a spending review in which the NHS and schools are expected to be the winners.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle declined to rule out the prospect of a real-terms squeeze on areas such as policing this week.
He used a round of interviews today to say that 'every part of our society is struggling' and police were competing with various other sectors who have Chancellor Rachel Reeves for more money.
Reports suggest that the Home Office is one of the departments that will face spending restrains when she sets out her plans in the Commons on Wednesday.
Last week, in a letter to the Prime Minister, Sir Mark Rowley, the head of the Metropolitan Police, warned that cuts to police budgets will have 'far-reaching consequences'.
Mr Kyle acknowledged that the police were after more money, but speaking on the BBC 's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme he said: 'We also have letters from the universities, we have letters from doctors about the health service, we have letters from campaigners for child poverty writing to us, and other aspects of challenges in Britain at the moment.
'Every part of our society is struggling because of the inheritance that we had as a country and as a Government.'
He added: 'We expect the police to start embracing the change they need to do, to do their bit for change as well. We are doing our bit.'
But shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the policing budget should be protected using deeper cuts to welfare spending.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle used a round of interviews today to say that 'every part of our society is struggling' and police were competing with various other sectors
'I'm very concerned that police numbers may fall already this current financial year, so before this spending review, we are seeing police numbers falling,' he said.
'Sir Mark Rowley, the Commissioner of the Met, is going to have to shrink the Met's workforce by 1,700, of which 1,500 will be police officers. So we're going to have less police in London, and the same story is going to play out across the country.
'And it looks like, from the reporting, that there are going to be problems in the three years after that as well, with the likelihood of police numbers under Labour going down, whereas in government when I was police minister this time last year, we actually hit record ever numbers of police, but Labour are putting that at risk.'
And Lib Dem Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper added said: 'There's already an epidemic of unsolved crime across the country, so its beggars belief that the Government won't rule out cutting vital police funding.
'They must keep their promises on neighbourhood policing and listen to our senior officers by ruling out any real-term cuts to the policing budget. It's the least our local communities deserve.'
Mr Kyle pointed to the £1.1 billion extra funding already earmarked for police this year, warning that public services would be expected to 'do their bit' alongside Government as he defended Ms Reeves' stewardship of the country's finances.
'You see a Chancellor that is striving to get investment to the key parts of our country that needs it the most… You will see the priorities of this Government reflected in the spending review, which sets the departmental spending into the long term,' he told the BBC.
'But this is a partnership. Yes, the Treasury needs to find more money for those key priorities, but the people delivering them need to do their bit as well.'
The Department of Health is set to be the biggest winner in Ms Reeves' spending review on Wednesday, with the NHS receiving a boost of up to £30 billion at the expense of other public services.
Economists have said the expected 2.8 per cent annual increase in its day-to-day budget, which amounts to a rise of about £30 billion by 2028, or £17 billion in real terms, will see other departments squeezed.
Day-to-day funding for schools is expected increase by an extra £4.5 billion by 2028-9 compared with the 2025-6 core budget, which was published in the spring statement.
In an interview with the Observer, the Chancellor said: 'I want young people to have the opportunity to fulfil their potential, wherever they are from, whatever their background.'
Speaking on Sunday, Mr Kyle said the schools system, along with an £86 billion funding package for research and development, would be top priorities as the Government seeks to 'invest in the future.'
'You will see in this spending review that we are investing the most we've ever spent per pupil in our school system,' he told Sky News.
Mr Kyle said Labour was 'absolutely laser-focused' on delivering manifesto pledges amid questions about how competing commitments will be balanced with little room for manoeuvre amid narrow fiscal headroom.
Asked about the Government's plan to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of the Parliament, the minister declined to guarantee Housing Secretary Angela Rayner's department would not face cuts.
But he added: 'We made a manifesto commitment. We are absolutely laser-focused on delivering that.'
He said the Government was also 'on the way' to delivering 13,000 new police officers, another manifesto pledge.
Ms Reeves has acknowledged that she has been forced to turn down requests for funding in a sign of the behind-the-scenes wrangling over her spending review.
She blamed the former Conservative government's economic record rather than her self-imposed fiscal rules, which include a promise to match day-to-day spending with revenues.
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