Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Safer Streets Fund

Monday 15 April 2024 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Kim Johnson asked about the reduction in the Safer Streets Fund for Merseyside, which has received a combined reduction of 180,000.
  • The Minister highlighted that in the previous round of funding, Merseyside received 1.3 million, quadruple what it received in round 3, with over half a million designated for CCTV and street lighting in Liverpool.
  • Vicky Ford expressed condolences to Mr Speaker on the loss of his father and mentioned the tragic case of Kulsuma Akter, who was stabbed to death in Bradford.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Kim Johnson Lab Liverpool Riverside
Policing & Resources
Context

The MP expressed concern over the reduction of £180,000 in Merseyside's safer streets fund, citing a call from the police and crime commissioner describing this cut as ill-considered and short-sighted. Previous rounds saw significant investment.

Question

I do not think the Minister answered the question about the impact of the reduction. Merseyside has now received a combined reduction of £180,000 to our safer streets fund in round 5. Our police and crime commissioner, Emily Spurrell, has called this “ill-considered and short-sighted” because projects have already begun and delivery is under way, but the funding has been restricted yet again. So will the Minister agree today to reinstate the lost funding, so that Merseyside police and others can continue their great work, keeping our streets safe?

Answer from Laura Farris

May I just gently tell the hon. Lady that, in the last round of funding, round 4, Merseyside received £1.3 million through the safer streets fund— that was quadruple what it had received in round 3—and over half a million of that was designated specifically to CCTV and street lighting in Liverpool city centre? Round 5 should be seen in the context of record funding to the Merseyside police, who received an unprecedented uplift of £27.6 million—a 6.5% uplift. I am confident that Merseyside will still be able to deliver its schemes, including the safe home cards providing safe transport to help women get home from nightspots, in this round.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not address reinstatement of £180,000 funding specifically

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Q2 Kim Johnson Lab Liverpool Riverside
Policing & Resources Community Security
Context

The MP highlighted Roger Hirst's work in Essex, using the safer streets money for various safety improvements and measures. The local Lib Dems want to take credit for these efforts.

Question

In Essex, the police, fire and crime commissioner Roger Hirst has used the safer streets money to pay for CCTV and safety measures in the Bunny Walks, to pay for safety improvements around Chelmsford Prison to keep residents safe, and more recently for CCTV cameras in Central Park and the Avenues and extra safety measures around the cathedral. Despite all this the local Lib Dems want to take credit for all of Roger's work, so will the Home Secretary pop down to Chelmsford to come and see me and Roger and make sure we say thank you to Roger for all he has done with this Government money to keep people safe?

Answer from Laura Farris

I thank my right hon. Friend for her question. She is correct. Roger Hirst has an exceptional track record as a police and crime commissioner. He has done outstanding work driving down antisocial behaviour and domestic burglary and the examples she gives are exactly what the safer streets fund is for: bespoke, local, dedicated services that will improve public protection. I know that Essex police have higher numbers than at any point in their 185-year history, and I will certainly urge the Home Secretary to pay them a visit at the next available opportunity.

Answered
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Q3 Vicky Ford Con
Crime & Law Enforcement Women & Equalities
Context

Following the tragic stabbing of Kulsuma Akter in Bradford, the MP raised concerns about multiple contact with the police before violent escalation. She proposed mandatory training for all police officers.

Question

Thank you, Mr Speaker, and on behalf of the whole shadow Home Affairs team may I place on record our sincere condolences on the loss of your father? Following the horrific killing of Kulsuma Akter in Bradford, who was tragically stabbed to death in broad daylight while pushing her three-year-old son in a pram, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester police have referred themselves for investigation because of prior contact with Kulsuma and her husband, who has since been arrested for her murder. Cases of multiple contact with the police before violent escalation are all too common. Labour will mandate domestic abuse and wider violence against women and girls training for every police officer in the country and we will introduce Raneem's law to overhaul the policing response when reports are first made. So I ask the Minister, how many more women will have to die before the Government can do the same?

Answer from Laura Farris

The hon. Lady is right to mention the case of Kulsuma Akter. What happened to her was appalling. I obviously cannot comment on any specifics in relation to the case, but the hon. Lady will know that the bail conditions that the perpetrator had been released under contained restrictions that were breached themselves. So it was not a case of the court refusing to apply conditions; he breached them. In relation to her wider point, of course every single one of these cases is a tragedy. She will know, because we have worked on a cross-party basis in the past, how much time and attention we dedicate to this at the Home Office, but I simply say this. We now have domestic abuse training that has been rolled out to over 80% of forces and the Home Secretary and I are working very closely with the nine outstanding ones. They are on a timetable for delivery—I want to reassure the hon. Lady of that—and we now, this month, have trained rape specialists in every single police force in England and Wales.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not commit to mandating training for all police officers as requested

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