Two of Stockport Labour’s Cabinet have penned a joint letter demanding that unmet Police pension funds should not be paid for by Stockport and Greater Manchester residents, but by Government.

Cllr Sheila Bailey and Cllr Elise Wilson, Stockport Cabinet Members for Communities and Housing and Reform and Governance respectively, have outlined their concerns on the matter to Home Secretary, Sajid Javid.

Recent Police Pension Valuation Directions will mean that the Police must significantly increase the amount they contribute to Police pensions. This means the Police salary budget, their largest spend area, will rise overnight by ten percent- with no new government money available to help.

In Greater Manchester this could mean an additional £8m must be found in 2019/20 and a further £20m every year after this beyond. These sums must be found from money available for policing, potentially affecting policing levels or require precept rises which pass the cost to residents.

Commenting, Cllr Sheila Bailey said:

“It is an outrageous thought that the costs of the Government’s unmet pensions liabilities should be passed on to the people of Greater Manchester, either in the form of Police cuts or additional taxes.

“Our Police force has had to cope with enough over the last eight years from this Government, with numbers already reduced nationally by 20,000. Now, on top of this, they are expected to continue to serve and protect our communities’ whilst absorbing a further ten percent taken from their staffing budget.

“The Government should pay for this mess. They are able to find billions to pay for tax cuts for the rich and large corporations, however, when their Police force needs a pension – it seems the people must pay with cuts or more tax.

“For these reasons we have outlined our concerns to the Home Secretary, to which we hope he will respond positively. “

 

ENDS

 

NOTES:

The full text of the letter to Sajid Javid is attached.

Letter to Sajid Javid MP police pensions