Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of changes to the budget of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on frontline policing.

I am in regular contact with the Chief Constable and the Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland to ensure that we understand the impact of funding reductions imposed by the Northern Ireland Executive on the PSNI’s ability to deliver frontline policing. The recent Stormont House Agreement includes an undertaking by Executive parties to ensure that the PSNI budget, including the community policing budget, is protected from significant reductions.

This Government has provided additional security funding of £231m to support PSNI in their efforts to tackle the threat from Northern Ireland Related Terrorism. This funding is not affected by the budget reductions imposed by the Northern Ireland Executive.