Police call on Home Office to cover £2.7m costs of Merseyside riots

by Ben Rossington, Liverpool Echo

MERSEYSIDE police chiefs were today pushing the government to cover the costs of the summer street riots – amid fears they could leave the cash-strapped force in deeper trouble.
The cost of the August disturbances, which brought violence to the streets of Toxteth, Birkenhead and parts of Sefton, currently stand at around £2.7m – money that will have to be found from an already over-stretched budget unless the Home Office agrees to come up with the cash.
Policing the two nights of rioting, and the subsequent nights on patrol to keep the peace, cost around £1.9m.
But the cost has been bumped up by claims made to the police authority under the Riots Damages Act by residents and businesses who found themselves caught up in the violence.
More than 140 claims were made with 70 fitting the criteria for repayment under the Act.
Of those classed as legitimate, one business has claimed for more than £500,000 – an application that is currently with the loss adjusters – while other claims add up to another £200,000.
But the police authority, liable for costs under the terms of the Act, are only sure to get back the cash they have to pay out to uninsured claimants – around £77,000.
The Home Office is currently considering whether to plug the gap for the rest of the costs but the authority treasurer, Paul Johnson, said it is vital they open their chequebook soon to save the force further misery.
Budget cuts forced on the police authority by Chancellor George Osbourne’s austerity measures have meant recruitment has been frozen and the number of officers on the streets of Merseyside is falling.
Jobs have been axed in all departments as the authority, which holds the force purse strings, try to balance the books with £20m less in government hand-outs this year than last.
Mr Johnson said: “This is money that could and should be used to make Merseyside safer but unfortunately we have been left to pick up the costs of policing these disturbances and the cost of the damage caused.
“Unless this is recognised by the Home Office it puts the financial situation in a more dire position than we are already in.
“We have had to make a special application for the Home Office to cushion the blow for us and cover the costs but we are now waiting for an answer.
“Given the financial situation we are in, this is the last thing we needed.”
The Home Office today said it will “support the police with the additional costs they face to ensure frontline services are not hit”.
However, the authority is sceptical. Mr Johnson added: “The Home Office in the days following the disturbances made sweeping statements saying they would foot the bill. But like everything with the Home Office, you have to take it with a pinch of salt and wait for the full details.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “We are already speaking to and working with police forces and authorities to help them make their applications, so that payments can be made as quickly as possible.”