CONTROVERSIAL plans to merge Surrey and Sussex Police forces look set to be shelved. Home Office minister Tony McNulty told a meeting of the Local Government Association on Wednesday that moves to merge the country's 43 forces into 17 strategic forces would not be going ahead for the forseeable future. His comments followed news that the proposed voluntary merger of the Cumbria and Lancashire forces was being abandoned. Although no reason was given, it was widely thought to be due the high costs involved. On Wednesday, Surrey Police issued a statement on behalf of Chief Constable Bob Quick and Police Authority Chairman Jim Smith. "Tuesday's news means there is a strong possibility that the proposed merger between Surrey and Sussex will not go ahead, and we have updated our staff accordingly," the statement said. "We will update our staff, our policing partners and members of the public again when we know officially from the Home Office about the way forward. "There has always been a level of uncertainty in this process since the Home Office first announced that bigger strategic mergers were the way forward for policing in September last year. "A team of colleagues from Surrey and Sussex have been working together to progress important joint work in priority areas such as protective services, and it is expected that several aspects of this work will continue, irrespective of merger. "Doing nothing is not an option and both forces remain committed to continuing to work together to boost our joint resilience, although it is too early to say what the structure of this may look like. "Surrey's position throughout has been that we could improve our resilience if we received better and fairer funding from the government, alongside closer co-operation with neighbouring forces and the ability to use workforce modernisation to provide more officers on the beat. "Better government funding is the main issue for Surrey - not the structure that we inhabit. Funding remains a chronic and pressing concern. We will continue to campaign for fairer funding in line with other South East forces in the coming weeks and months ahead. "In the meantime, it is business as usual for Surrey Police and Surrey Police Authority. Former Home Secretary Charles Clarke unveiled plans to merge the 43 police forces of England and Wales into 17 "strategic forces" last November. The Surrey and Sussex forces looked set to be forced into a merger, despite fierce opposition from both sides. A strongly worded letter was sent from Surrey Police Authority urging reconsideration of the idea, while Surrey County Council leader Nick Skellett also wrote to the government expressing his reservations. All 12 of Surrey's MPs tabled an early day motion in Parliament, while similar stories of dissatisfaction with the move emerged from Sussex. In May, the arrival of Dr John Reid as Home Secretary gave the campaign a renewed momentum, which culminated in Tuesday's news. South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt was quick to express his delight. "It is about time the government woke up to fact that these plans were never going to work. The idea of merging two forces, such as Surrey and Sussex, was fundamentally flawed from the outset and would have been a huge distraction," he said. "Everyone seemed to see that from the beginning – everyone, that is, other than the government themselves. "I only am disappointed it has taken them so long to shelve these plans, which should have been banished to the scrapheap before being officially published." "We as politicians must try and free our police officers from the red tape which is currently strangling them. I am delighted that our campaign to put a stop to the police mergers has paid off." And a Surrey County Council spokesman added: "The county council has always had grave reservations about the benefits of merging Surrey and Sussex police forces, and it welcomes the news that this has been indefinitely postponed," he said. "Our main concern was always that Surrey residents may suffer as a result of split funding across both forces and that this would affect policing and potentially lead to higher crime. "However, we remain vigilant and await further news from the Home Office." Waverley councillor John Robini portfolio holder for community safety, said: "Waverley understands that the proposed merger is not off the government's agenda, but that the consultation period has been extended for an unspecified time. "Waverley continues to support Surrey Police in objecting to the merger as originally proposed, as we do not believe it would deliver a benefit to residents of Waverley. "However we understand that Surrey Police continue to work closely with Sussex Police and others on operational matters."
