Moving civil servants into police buildings could help save more stations from being closed, says PCC
A police chief says moving civil servants into police buildings could help save more stations from being shut down.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) David Jamieson is calling for London government jobs to be moved into "underused" stations across the region.
The Labour PCC has presided over a sweeping police estates programme in a bid to cut costs, with more than 70 stations and bases closing in the past six years and more lined up to shut by 2022.
They include Oldbury, Tipton, Wednesbury, Aldridge and Wednesfield – all of which Mr Jamieson says could be saved with Government support – as well as Solihull and Sutton Coldfield.
The Government is planning to move thousands of posts out of the nation's capital as part of its 'places for growth' programme, which could see staff from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government relocated to the West Midlands.
He has urged politicians from the region to join him in lobbying Ministers over the plan, which he says "will help to keep police buildings open which would otherwise be non-viable".
He said moving jobs out of London "will not only bring high quality, well paid jobs to the region – but will help our high streets which have been struggling".
He called on people "of all parties and none" to back the plans, saying that by doing so they would be "supporting keeping police buildings open".
The PCC is understood to have raised the issue of civil with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street at a meeting yesterday.
Cabinet Office Minister Lord Agnew said the Government was aiming to relocate a significant number of posts from London across Birmingham and the West Midlands.
He said planning for identifying sites was "still at an early stage" and that "regular discussions" were taking place with Mr Street.
Mr Jamieson has defended his estates programme, claiming that many police stations were largely empty due to cuts to officer numbers over the past decade.
He said that "keeping empty buildings open and having to maintain them and part-heat them is not a good use of taxpayers' money".
Jay Singh-Sohal, the Conservative candidate for PCC, described Mr Jamieson's plan as a "deflection tactic". He has vowed to keep stations open if he is elected "to ensure a stronger police presence".
