Chancellor Outlines Plans in First Spending Review
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to the announcements made by Chancellor Sajid Javid during the Spending Review, outlining details about the allocation of money to different departments during the 2020-2021 financial year.
The Chancellor announced plans to invest in the criminal justice system, including £750m to fund the first year of the government’s plan to recruit 20,000 new police officers by 2022, with plans to have the first 2,000 police officers in place by the end of March 2020.
It was also announced that there would be an extra £80m allocated to the Crown Prosecution Service.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “Convenience retailers are continuing to invest in crime prevention measures in their store but it is vital that they are supported by police and the criminal justice system. More police on the streets are welcome, but this must be accompanied by a joined up approach to tackling repeat offenders and crimes like theft and abuse being taken seriously by the justice system.”
The government will also undertake a formal review of serious organised crime, to determine the capability and funding needed to tackle the issue at the next Spending Review.
The full document is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-round-2019-document/spending-round-2019
