Police get extra money to address immediate issues

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is to get an additional £37m funding, which will address its immediate budget problems.

Justice Minister Naomi Long said it would “sustain and stabilise” policing for the remainder of the financial year to April.

The money is coming from the Stormont mini-budget known as a monitoring round.

Before now, the PSNI had been facing an in-year funding gap of £37m.

Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said he was very grateful to Long for her decision to prioritise support for policing and close the funding gap.

However, Mr Boutcher said the "security of sufficient, sustainable funding" needed to be continued into the next year.

"I am particularly pleased that this announcement will enable progress to be made on this year's pay award for officers," he added.

Chief Constable Jon Boutcher recently stated policing was at a “watershed moment”, with the lowest number of officers in its history.

He is currently working on a “recovery plan”, which aims to lift officer numbers from 6,300 to 7,000 by 2028.

Money for extra recruitment would likely be dealt with separately.

Long has also announced extra cash for the Legal Aid system.

Earlier this month, criminal barristers and solicitors staged a one-day strike action as part of a dispute over legal aid fees.

She said an additional £5m would help the processing of more payments and ease the “strain” on lawyers.

The minister added that her department was experiencing “unprecedented pressures”.

She went on: “I have had to make decisions to direct additional funding to where I believe it will make the most impact at this time.”