PSNI: Stormont can't fund recruitment plan federation claims
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has been told Stormont cannot find the money for a £200m plan to increase officer numbers, the Police Federation has claimed.Speaking at a conference in Enniskillen, its chairman, Liam Kelly, said he was "appalled" by the situation.The PSNI recently submitted a business case for the extra cash, which was being assessed by the Department of Finance.Mr Kelly claimed the department recently told Chief Constable Jon Boutcher there is no money to support the plan.
'A slap in the face'
Mr Boutcher's plan aims to increase officer numbers to 7,000 – the service currently has about 6,200 officers, the lowest in its 24-year history.Recruitment is already under way, but the chief constable wanted his recovery plan funded on top of his annual budget.The Police Federation represents the organisation's rank and file.Addressing its annual conference, Mr Kelly said without a "last-minute rethink" by Stormont, the plan has been "effectively shredded".
'Slap in the face'
He continued: "To say there is disappointment would be a gross understatement."It would be more accurate to say this federation is appalled by this decision."It is a slap in the face to our officers."He went on to state that he believed policing is "at the back of the queue" when it comes to budget allocations from Stormont."Nobody in government seems to care or give a damn," he remarked.A recent inspection report warned financial pressures are limiting what the PSNI is able to do, including monitoring violent offenders and neighbourhood patrolling.
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BBC News
13 minutes ago
- BBC News
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Mr Mathieson takes us on a grim tour, pointing out how the sewage leak has gone right through the building, into the instructors' lockers on the lower floors - now replaced by a red bucket - the missing ceiling panels along the corridor, and the single boiler providing heat and hot water."We should have two but we didn't have the budget," he tells us, adding that the building will have to close completely if the boiler tells me that four defunct boilers - which he thinks date back to the 1960s when the station was built - have been kept so they can "cannibalise them for parts around the other bits of the estates".The upstairs women's bathroom, which was flooded in March, remains out of order, with parts of the ceiling taken down simply to make the building across the corridor, on the back of the locker-room door, is a poster encouraging officers to "take pride in your workplace". 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"It needs a complete, thorough refurbishment, but that will probably cost £30m, and that means we can't spend £30m on any of the 259 other buildings in the rest of the estate."I'm always having to judge where are the biggest, most critical problems and put the funding into those." Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that police forces are being given £1 billion extra funding this year, and said other public services were struggling "because of the inheritance that we had as a country and as a government." "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," he said. 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The Independent
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BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
'Discrimination' concerns over Stormont constituency jobs
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'Social media officers' The recruitment documents were obtained through Freedom of Information also give an insight into who is being recruited by MLAs, and the kinds of jobs being of the 90 MLAs have declared employing family than 60% of the staff recruited since May 2022 were members of their MLA employer's political of the jobs advertised have titles such as constituency caseworker, manager or policy 50 had "communications" in their title, while a further 19 were "social media officers".Pat McCartan, a former member of an independent Stormont panel which set rules on MLA expenses, expressed concern about some of the job titles."It's very far removed from assisting people with their constituency enquiries," he said."They're not paid to be extra party workers."Mr McCartan said there was a need for a "serious audit of the financial arrangements".An assembly spokesman said MLAs employ staff for "a range of roles such as casework, research and communications"."This is distinct from support that may be provided centrally by their political party," he said staff support MLAs "to serve their constituents and pursue their priorities for constituency and assembly business"."Those specific priorities will differ for each member and may be naturally influenced by their political perspective."
