It is time to bring out into the open the row about the funding of Lincolnshire Police which has been going on for months behind the scenes.

We have always had first-class policing in Lincolnshire. In Grantham in particular, I think we have under Chief Superintendent Terry Hackett, who has made a great effort to engage with the community he serves, a force that displays all the finest qualities of the service – tact, fairness, firmness when required, steady judgement and conscientious dedication to the public good.

Policing is paid for partly by a Home Office grant (in other words, the national taxpayer), partly by a precept which is included in the Council Tax (i.e. the local council tax payers). The current police budget for the County is around £95million a year. We are entitled to more Home Office grant under the national funding formula, but £1.6m is being temporarily withheld to provide transitional relief to other constabularies. Without this being withheld, the grant would increase next year by 6.3%; if it is withheld, the increase goes down to 2.7%, roughly the rate of inflation.

“Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, this week announced that he is abolishing Lincolnshire Constabulary and imposing a merger with other East Midlands police forces. Today is the last day of the so-called consultation exercise on the proposed abolition of Lincolnshire Ambulance Service and its incorporation into a new East Midlands service including Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. In fact the “consultation” is quite bogus. A decision has already been taken and a new Chief Executive appointed. Afterwards, Quentin Davies said:

These decisions show complete contempt for the people of Lincolnshire. The Police Authority, the Ambulance Authority, the County Council and every Lincolnshire MP opposed them. So far as I know, not a single Lincolnshire organisation was in favour of them.