The Mayor's 2010/11 budget will, as we know, result in Met borough commanders having less money to spend, partly as a result of his much-trumpeted freeze of his portion of Council Tax precept income. Boris reckons he can compensate in "frontline" terms through measures such as civilianisation and by the Commissioner having more officers patrolling singly, rather than in pairs. But the Assembly's Lib Dems reckon he could have it both ways.
Their budget amendment - which you can download in all its detailed fullness via here - proposes a cut in the precept of 2.6%, which they say would be worth 58 pence a week to Band D households. It also says that the loss to policing resulting from Boris's precept freeze could be restored by making efficiencies within the Met itself. Such as:
Senior officers should use public transport rather than chauffeur-driven limousines unless it is essential for operational purposes, and should not use first or business class when flying on Met business.
Hard to disagree with that, wouldn't you say Boris? And how about this?
We believe that a major reduction in the Met's Directorate of Public Affairs would have no impact on London's policing, neither would reductions by a third in the Met's use of consultants.
They've counted a total of "74 people within the Directorate of Public Affairs, to deal with the media," at a cost of just over £3 million a year. They'd half that, and I must say - at some risk of being unfair - that I'm the more receptive to this idea for having called Met's press bureau with an inquiry not long ago and being told, rather crossly, that I couldn't be helped because they were "short staffed". On the other hand, here's former MPA chair Toby Harris:
When I chaired the Metropolitan Police Authority, there was an annual ritual at budget time, when the Conservative Group on the London Assembly would propose swingeing reductions in the public affairs budget of the Metropolitan Police.
Not much of that this time around, I think.
I always took the view that for a police service the size of the Met it was important to spend money on public information and on anti-crime campaigns. Therefore, it was pleasing to see that now that Mayor Boris Johnson – who I understand still dabbles in weekend journalism to supplement his modest £144,000 Mayoral stipend – is in control at City Hall, he is proposing an increase of £1 million in the budget of the Met's Directorate of Public Affairs (from £6,046,000 to £7,084,000 – a rise of 17%%).
Not that the good Lord thinks the Met's Public Affairs Director has made a great job of defending the increase.
