North policing budget hole can be plugged, says board

Money to plug the £24.5m (€28.7m) hole in the North’s policing budget can still be found, the Policing Board insisted today.

Security Minister Paul Goggins agreed to look again at his overall spending plans to identify areas where savings could be found after meeting the board at the Stormont estate today.

With thousands of former police officers submitting claims for compensation for hearing loss suffered during the conflict, police funds have been severely stretched.

SDLP board member Dolores Kelly said: “The board members feel generally it was a positive meeting and the minister is going back to look to pressures within other areas of his responsibility like the Prison Service.

“We are all going to look at where money might be moved across from one budget to the other.”

She said if there was going to be significant under-spend in one area that could be spread to the police service.

PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde has said the jobs of civilian support staff could be lost as he struggles to pay for issues linked to the Troubles.

Sir Hugh said he believed a solution would be found to the problem, but added the 50/50 recruitment process aimed at boosting Catholic numbers in the police service would not be affected.

According to the PSNI, in April the British government allocated £130m (€152.3m) less than needed for the next three years.

Police are struggling to cope with an £87m (€101.9m) legal claim looming because officers were not offered ear protection during firearms training in previous decades.

Spending pressures outside police control include the civil service equal pay claim for certain grades of public servants and changes to the police pension scheme.