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West Midlands Police may mount a legal challenge against the Government about the way it has consulted on new plans to fund policing.

The news comes as the force fears it could lose more than half its funding by the year 2020 and find it difficult to protect the public.

Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said the force is facing “the most serious situation since its formation in 1974.”

Government cuts announced by the Chancellor in July, and a new funding formula for police forces, could see the West Midlands lose 55 per cent of its funds.

The Home Office launched a consultation about the new funding formula in July, which will see £7.8 billion divided up between different forces.

But the government department has not provided any examples to police forces about the way the money received would change.

Crime Commissioner Mr Jamieson has written to the Home Office demanding answers, and has since lodged an Freedom of Information request asking for the calculations which would confirm how each force is likely to be affected.

But the Home Office responded yesterday to say that an answer will not be provided until September 29, which is two weeks after the consultation ends on September 15 and nearly two months after the request was lodged

Chief Constable Chris Sims confirmed during a meeting of the Strategic Police and Crime Board meeting that the force would look at its legal options.

Mr Jamieson said: “Any approach that protects the people of the West Midlands by giving us a fair deal won’t be ruled out.”

And he warned that further budget cuts would make it difficult for the chief constable to protect the public.

The National Audit Office (NAO) has already warned that the force has been hit harder than other forces by spending cuts so far. It has lost £126 million since 2010 with total spending power cut by 23 per cent in the last five years.

Other police forces have suffered less drastic reductions, with funding for Surrey Police down by just 12 per cent in the same period, the NAO said.

West Midlands Police expected to lose around 40 per cent of funding by 2020, which will lead to the loss of 2,500 officers and the smallest force in its history.

But, speaking about the threat of even bigger cuts, Mr Jamieson said: “To lose 40 per cent of our budget would have been very hard but we had a tough plan in place.

“However, it would not be an underestimate to describe losing 55 per cent of total funding as catastrophic. It would be very difficult to see how the Chief Constable could continue to do the work he has been doing in keeping the community safe.

“It is the most serious situation this force has faced since it was formed. I am not one to cry wolf or say that cuts cannot be managed or efficiencies made, but the course that the Government is taking us on is beyond that.

“I thought that any changes to how the Government divides its police funding would surely benefit the West Midlands, as we have to deal with more complex crimes, violence and radicalisation on a scale that dwarfs that of rural forces.

“From what I have been led to believe this is not the case. The rural shires are set to benefit whilst the West Midlands is punished.

“The Government needs to change its course, put the safety of people in the West Midlands first and give our region a fair funding deal.”

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