Leicestershire Police Authority today met Government Ministers John Healey and Tony McNulty regarding the Government’s proposal to cap the Authority’s budget for 2008/09.

This follows the letter the Authority received from the Communities and Local Government (CLG) on Thursday 27 March 2008 informing the Authority that the Minister had commenced the process which could lead to the Authority being ‘capped’; an action taken against 8 Authorities across the country that exceeded a 5% increase.

Byron Rhodes, Chairman of the Police Authority, Barrie Roper, Vice Chairman of the Police Authority and the Chief Constable Matt Baggott attended the Communities and Local Government offices in London to state their case direct to the Ministers who make the decision. Five of the area’s MPs also managed to attend the meeting: Stephen Dorrell, Edward Garnier, Sir Peter Soulsby, David Taylor and Keith Vaz.

Byron Rhodes, Chairman of the Police Authority, said: “I am satisfied that we were given the opportunity to put our argument for the increase across to the Ministers this morning and can confirm we held a constructive meeting. I believe we have strong evidence that supports our decision that the Force needs this funding in order to meet the standards that the public deserve. I am particularly grateful to the local MPs, who were able to attend the meeting with us, for their invaluable support at this time.”