Member Article

£500K bill for failed police merger

Cleveland police are claiming half a million pounds from the Government for costs incurred from abandoned police merger plans. Plans to cut police forces across England and Wales, would have seen the Durham, Northumbria and Cleveland forces coming together.Councillor Dave McLuckie, who praised the “sensible and statesmanlike” actions of Home Secretary John Reid and Policing Minister Tony McNulty in responding to opposition against the mergers plan, urged them to “close the final chapter by accepting that the Government — rather than local Council Tax Payers — should foot the bill for this sorry saga.“There remains one issue left where we firmly believe the Government must accept its responsibilities — and that is the question of the enormous cost which has arisen as a direct result of the deeply-flawed manner in which this whole review was conducted for so many months. “All public bodies have to meet the financial consequences of their actions and we can see no reason why this should not apply to the Government in this instance. It was the decision of Charles Clarke — not this or any other force or authority — to launch the review process, and to seek to force through mergers on the basis of such flimsy evidence in the face of overwhelming local opposition.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .