Rochdale welcomes Police Authority refund!

Rochdale Member of the Police Authority Councillor Barbara Todd has welcomed a £75,810 refund from the Government. This was the cost incurred by Greater Manchester Police in the failed preparation for police restructuring. The £75,810 is the full cost of the preparatory work that Greater Manchester Police undertook during a Government review of the number of forces in England and Wales. The review caused controversy in many areas in the country with forces facing mergers to fit in with the plans to cut the number of forces in England and Wales from 43 to fewer than 30. The scrapping of the scheme was a relief to many people but left forces with huge bills.

Councillor Barbara Todd said, "I welcome this decision as Greater Manchester Police's budget is already stretched. In making this payment the Government have made sure that GMP don't foot the bill for their meddling. The Police Mergers was always a cost cutting exercise that was always going to be unpopular with the public. Reducing the number of forces and widening the area that Greater Manchester Police cover was not a good idea, it doesn't exactly inspire localised policing."

Rochdale MP - Paul Rowen said, "The Police Authority will be relieved but the money is still coming from the taxpayer - it's just coming from Central Government instead of the Council Tax Payer in Greater Manchester. The fact remains that the bungled attempt by the Government to try and force mergers has cost the Government £3,997,200 nationally, this is an absolute scandal. There needs to be less Government meddling and more investment in front line police."