WEST MIDLANDS POLICE FUNDING

That this House congratulates the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Chief Constable and our excellent police officers, PCSOs and staff for maintaining high standards of policing in the West Midlands, despite having lost, since 2010, £145 million of the budget and 3,000 officer and staff posts in one of the most challenging areas for crime in the country; welcomes the motion from the cross-party West Midlands Police and Crime Panel to ensure the force has the funding it needs based on the huge needs of the area at a time of rising crime; and calls on the Government to fund the Force properly by paying them, first, the full amount that the current police funding formula proposes which would increase its funding by £44 million per year and, second, guarantee that in future years Government funding will keep up with inflation.