A south Cumbrian MP has raised his opposition to a proposed merger of police forces in Parliament.
Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, asked Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, about the possibility of a future merger between Cumbria and Lancashire police forces.
It comes after the government published a white paper in January which announced a review into reducing the number of police forces in England and Wales.
The review is being undertaken by Lord Bernard Hogan-Howe, a former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, and Inspector of Constabulary.
Strengthening the current police force model will give ‘the taxpayer more value for money’, the government said.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Farron raised the issue with the Home Secretary during a debate on police efficiency and technology.
Mr Farron said: “Police efficiency is the argument being used to propose the merger of Lancashire and Cumbria police forces, something which I strongly oppose.
“Lancashire is a wonderful county but it is a county that has many urban centres with larger populations.
“Does the Home Secretary agree that there is a real risk that the people of Cumbria will see our police officers being drawn down to those larger, more populous places in Lancashire and that it would be wise to call off the merger?”
In response, Ms Mahmood said ‘there are no planned mergers’ and that Lord Hogan-Howe’s review ‘will advise the Government on the right number of regional forces to have’.
“This is part of our plan to change policing so that we have a national police service, regional forces and local police areas that are able to police their local communities,” she added.
“When Lord Hogan-Howe’s review reports, I am sure we will be able to debate what he proposes for regional forces, but I can reassure the Honourable Member [Mr Farron] that local police areas will be a key part of the reforms as they are rolled out and will deal with exactly the problems that he has raised.”
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