Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the relationship between changes in the (a) number of officers in the West Midlands Police Force Area and (b) level of recorded crime in the area covered by that police force.

In January I announced the police funding settlement for 2018/19 which will see an additional £460m invested in the policing system, around £280m direct to PCCs. Prior to this I spoke to police leaders in every police force in England and Wales about the demands they face, including representatives from the West Midlands and this settlement reflects the evidence they provided.

I understand that the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has chosen to use his increased precept flexibility, which will provide around £9.5m additional funding for West Midlands Police in 2018/19. The PCC has said that he will use this additional funding to improve services delivered to the public.

Decisions about the allocation of police resources and deployment of officers are for Chief Constables and democratically accountable PCCs. They are responsible for ensuring the needs of the local community are met.