Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the planned closure of half of London's police stations does not impact negatively on work to reduce crime levels.

The Government believes in local policing accountable to local communities. This is why decisions on the number of police stations and their locations are for Chief Constables and directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Mayors with PCC functions. They are best placed to make these decisions based on their local knowledge and experience.

Before making decisions on the 2018/19 police funding settlement, I spoke to every police force in England and Wales to understand how demands on them were changing. This year, police funding is increasing by £460m including a £280m increase in funding for police forces from precept.

The Mayor of London has announced that funding for the Metropolitan Police Service will increase by £110 million in 2018/19, including funding from increased precept and business rates.