A response by the Leader of Leeds City Council Cllr Keith Wakefield and Cllr Peter Gruen to the news that the Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire has agreed a funding package for PCSOs in the city for 2014-2016.
Councillor Keith Wakefield, Leader of Leeds City Council said:
“Due to the significant reductions being made to our budget, we are as a council having to make some extremely difficult decisions regarding which services can continue to be delivered by us in the future.
“A key element of how we are meeting this tough budgetary challenge is by working closely with our partners to see how further support and funding for important council initiatives and services across Leeds can be found.
“I am pleased therefore that having listened closely to our case, the Police Crime Commissioner has agreed to contribute to the part funding of our PCSOs over the next two years. The PCSOs play a very important role in combatting anti-social behaviour, and this funding will help ensure that their visible presence remains in Leeds.”
Councillor Peter Gruen, Leeds City Council executive board member with responsibility for neighbourhoods, planning and support services said:
“As a council we are putting in a lot of hard work to tackle anti-social behaviour, and a key strand of how this is being achieved is through the deployment of PCSOs in our city.
“Due to the extremely tough financial challenge the council faces, it is simply not possible to fund all of the services that have been provided previously, but we were extremely determined to find a way to continue to fund our PCSOs.
“It is then extremely positive news that the Police Crime Commissioner has provided this financial support towards the cost of our PCSOs and we look forward to them continuing their vital work in our city.”
