Oldham Police Budget Slashed By Over One Million In 5 Years
The million pound drop has come predominantly from staffing costs.
Police budgets in Oldham have been cut by over £1m since 2013/14, from £22,212,350 to £20,818,267 in 2017/18.
The drop of 6% has mostly come from staffing costs: in 2013/14, the personnel budget was £21,676,787, 98% of the total budget. While still compromising 98% of the overall budget, personnel costs have since dropped to £20,491,244, a cut of £1,185,543.
The Oldham police force is part of Greater Manchester Police (GMP), with the dedicated budget for Oldham coming from the overall GMP budget.
A Home Office spokesperson told the Manchester Evening News in July last year: “Police have the resources they need to carry out this vital work and we have provided a strong and comprehensive settlement that is increasing total investment in the police system by over £460m in 2018/19. Funding for Greater Manchester Police has been increased by around £10.7million this year to £556 million, up from £545 million. In addition, the force also had reserves of over £79m in March 2017.
“However, we know the nature of crime is changing and that is why the Policing Minister has spoken to every police force in the country to understand the demands they are facing and why the Home Secretary in May committed to prioritising police funding in next year’s Spending Review.”