Police Commissioners could demand more money under a proposed new law

  • Wales
Lord Wigley is proposing a bill to ensure police are adequately resourced Credit:

Police Commissioners could demand more money from the Home Office under a proposed new law.

Plaid Cymru Peer, Dafydd Wigley, will put forward his plan in the House of Lords to ensure police forces are adequately resourced to deal with major incidents.

The former Plaid Cymru Leader seeks to place a duty on Police and Crime Commissioners to submit a funding proposal which the Secretary of State must either agree to, or refer to an independent body.

It also requires the Secretary of State to justify any divergence between the proposal and the final settlement to the House of Commons.

The former Plaid Cymru leader says his Bill will ensure police are equipped to carry out their core duties such as combatting extremism and keeping communities safe.

He says funding cuts have particularly squeezed units such as Safer Neighbourhood Teams, which carry out crucial counter terrorism work in communities.

The police budget is set by the Government on an annual basis, but Lord Wigley claims police forces have lost a quarter of their UK government funding over the past five years.

Between September 2010 and September 2016, police numbers in England and Wales fell by 18,991, or 13%, according to the Home Office.