MP Hits Out At Police Funding

He said the funding settlement would mean that the counter-terrorism and dedicated security post that the force had ancitipated would no longer be funded to the same level and the force would receive about 400,000 less for resourcing thismkey priority. He called for a fairer way of distributing the money to be looked at by the government.

"Sussex police has already planned to deliver 6.8m in efficiency savings, but the final settlement will require further savings of 1.9m in order to constraiin any precept increase to below five per cent. This will almost certainly mean a real threat to service delivery and to the greatly improved performance of Sussex police," said Mr Soames.

Paul Goggins, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, said that a major change in which the funding of police services was being organised this yhear meanrt that money would be provided from central funding.

"I believe this settlement will enable forces to sustain the improvements and changes they have made," he said.