The Treasury has rejected a request from Stormont for extra funding to cover the costs associated with the PSNI data breach
The Prime Minister has confirmed that he is in ‘regular contact’ with the PSNI Chief Constable over funding for the service.
Sir Kier Starmer was speaking in the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday when he was asked about the issue by DUP leader Gavin Robinson.
Last week, the Treasury refused Stormont’s request for an additional £119m to cover the costs associated with the PSNI data breach.
The Chief Constable, Jon Boutcher, has previously spoken about the impact that his budget is having on the ability to deliver policing in the region, warning that the service is “critically underfunded”.
Speaking in the Commons, Gavin Robinson said: “The Prime Minister has a deep understanding of policing in Northern Ireland and its importance. He knows about the ongoing national security threat and about the additional costs of dealing with the legacy of our past.
“He knows that the Police Service of Northern Ireland has been underfunded, and that the Northern Ireland Executive have rightly brought forward a stability programme for it. He also knows that it is under strength; in 2020, New Decade, New Approach suggested that there should be 7,500 police officers in Northern Ireland, but today there are 6,200.
“Does the Prime Minister know, however, that the Treasury did not look favourably on a request to draw on the reserves for a data breach that cost £120 million?
“Does he recognise that, in Treasury terms, the incident was “unforeseen, unaffordable and unavoidable”, and therefore matches the Treasury’s criteria? To set aside that money in-year would be 10% of the PSNI’s overall budget—it is not affordable.”
Responding, the Prime Minister said: “I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising this important issue, which I know is of real concern to him. I reassure him that I am in regular contact with Chief Constable Jon Boutcher and the PSNI on it, as he would expect.
“As he is aware, we provided a record settlement of £19.3 billion a year on average for the Executive, and we invested £113 million in additional security funding for the PSNI to help to address specific security challenges. While it is for the Executive to set the PSNI budget, I reassure him that our commitment is to keeping people safe in Northern Ireland.”
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