Labour will make £250m worth of savings in Home Office to preserve frontline police jobs

Labour have published the first report from their zero-based spending review (ZBR) – the assessment of all governmental spending that the party launched in December last year to plan how to tackle the deficit. The ZBR is led by Chris Leslie, the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and today’s initial report is launched jointly with Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, as the focus lies on her department.

Today’s report announces that Labour would making savings to the Home Office budget of £250 million, and prioritise preserving frontline police services. Current Home Office plans for 2015/16 include cutting 1,100 police officers across the country, and Labour say that with the savings they have found these jobs could be saved. Most of the money saved or raised appears to come from cutting “government waste” and attempting to make the system more cost-efficient, rather than relying on simply cutting jobs.

Cooper’s September announcement that Labour would scrap police and crime commissioners (PCCs) appears again today, with the claim that the move will save £50 million next year alone.

The biggest saving they have found is in reforming police equipment procurement. By making joint purchasing between forces mandatory, it is claimed that savings of up to £172 million a year could be made. The report also says that £17.2 million could be raised by implementing full cost recovery on gun licensing, with a further £9 million raised by levying increased fees for police driver offender retraining.

Chris Leslie slammed the Government’s incompetence for missing their target of eliminating the deficit by the end of the Parliament and promised that Labour will “finish the job”. He said:

“David Cameron and George Osborne are set to break their promise to balance the books by next year.

“The next Labour government will finish the job of balancing the books but we will do so in a fairer way by making different choices from the Tories. 

“Labour’s Zero-Based Review has identified almost a quarter of a billion pounds of savings which we will make in the Home Office budget. With departmental spending set to be reduced in the next Parliament, these savings will help us to better protect frontline policing compared to Tory plans.”

Cooper, meanwhile, attacked Tory plans to cut 1,100 police jobs:

“Under the Tories’ policies and spending plans, another 1,100 police officers are due to be cut next year alone, with the police warning that many more officers and vital public duties are at risk. This first stage of Labour’s Zero-Based Review of the Home Office shows how Labour plans can make savings to help get the deficit down and prevent 1,100 officers being cut next year. 

“The police are already struggling to cope with growing crimes such as violent crime, child sex exploitation, online child abuse and online fraud, and prosecutions are falling as they can’t get cases to trial.”

Labour have said that the process behind the ZBR is being guided by the following principles:

– We will use public money more efficiently – and seek efficiencies in every area of government spending

– We will use all departmental budgets to strengthen the economy – supporting growth, job creation, innovation and exports

– We will ensure greater fairness  in the impact of spending – and will prioritise spending that prevents future problems

– At the same time as increasing efficiency, the quality and experience of public service must improve – offering the speech, simplicity and responsiveness that people now expect

– We will strengthen accountability and transparency across government – with clear efficiency incentives for all departments