Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Ian Johnston has said he is “cautiously optimistic” by Chancellor George Osborne’s unexpected announcement that he would protect the police budget.
Mr Osborne said he would not cut the budget for the police in the Comprehensive Spending Review, announced on November 25.
The statement effectively outlined the UK Government’s spending plans for the next five years.
Prior to the statement, Mr Johnston had claimed “brutal and dangerous” cuts could hinder Gwent Police’s response to extremism.
His comments came in the wake of the Paris terror attacks and he questioned the “rationale” of making further cuts to the force’s budget during “a time of heightened security threats”.
Mr Johnston had said Gwent Police was bracing itself for cuts of 25% or 40%, adding UK Government cuts would hinder tackling extremism on the ground.
After the spending review he said: “The devil is always in the detail but the early indications look very positive.
“I just hope that our budget will not be top sliced by the Home Office for other initiatives and projects.”
Prior to Mr Osborne’s announcement, he said: “The horrific terrorist attacks in France over the weekend bring into sharp focus our Government’s proposal to impose further cuts on policing in England and Wales.
“With the cuts we have faced already and with more to come, it seriously does beg the question as to how we would fare in the same circumstances.”
Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn used Prime Minister’s Questions on November 18 to ask whether police numbers should be cut during a time of heightened terror threats.
Prime Minister David Cameron said the Government were protecting the counter-terrorism budget.
Meanwhile, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney MP, Gerald Jones, also spoke out against cuts to frontline policing.
He said: “If ministers cut the police on the scale proposed, they will be putting public safety at risk and will go down as the government that took thousands of bobbies off the beat.”
Policing Minister Mike Penning has previously dismissed concerns over police cuts in Gwent and said by cutting red tape and scrapping targets, police reform was working.
AM hits out at spending plan
Caerphilly Labour AM Jeff Cuthbert has criticised the UK Government’s “smoke and mirrors” spending review.
Mr Cuthbert was speaking after the Chancellor set out the UK Government’s spending plans for the next five years.
He said: “The spending review represents a real terms cut to a Welsh budget which has already had £1.3 billion of cuts imposed on it. I am also worried that the UK Government is still not properly committed to fair funding for Wales.”
Mr Cuthbert added he was “delighted” that proposed cuts to tax credits were scrapped.