The Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner, Andrew Snowden, is under fire on nextdoor.com for claiming ‘overwhelming support‘ for what he says were his proposals at securing £75 million for a new Lancashire Police HQ.
Lots of people expressed their concerns about this significant sum of money used by police, for police and secured by the PCC.
Comments from disgruntled Lancashire residents include the following:
Michael Lane – Why? I’d rather have more Police Officers.
Connor Heed – And he still won’t post the statistics for unsolved crimes and complaints
Lisa M – How convenient they can find extortionate amounts of money for this yet not for the NHS when people are being refused life saving treatments and have to actually fight for their lives in court. You can’t even get hold of the Police on the phone and they won’t come out because they’re busy. Brainless idea as usual
John Farr – More police on the beat I can’t remember last time I saw one in Skelmersdale
David Rayner – Yet another fiscal farce – obviously not interested in combating neighbourhood/criminal problems …. more interested in improving/mending a badly tarnished image…..
Mark Owen – Great way to use £75m, which bright spark came up with this idea? As above invest it into Officers, or Nurses or Ambulance staff, wait the reason will be it’s in a different pot of money!
Kimberley Whitehead – The commissioners priorities are all wrong. An obscene amount of money and outrageous at a time when people and services are struggling.
Dozens more posts are unanswered by the PCC.
On 11th December, I made a Freedom of Information Request (FOI) for details about this funding. After 1 month to the day, the maximum allowed, he responded by saying, ‘we have no information‘. This is alleged to be a lie, it is rejected that none of the requested information is held by the PCC.
Why the Police and Crime Commissioner took an entire month to declare he held no information would seem like a tactic to delay the request, which has now been forwarded to Lancashire police, where another month is expected to be wasted before a response is given.
The FOI was supplied with a child-like map of Lancashire police HQ with lovely colours indicating the claimed disrepair. Substantial areas on this map have been marked in grey labelled as ‘unknown condition‘, which would show that no real survey has been completed!
The FOI, provided by the Police and Crime Commissioner, shows that he has no knowledge of the plans for the money. He has no knowledge of the site and would appear he has secured £75 million based on the above drawing.
The drawing would indicate £12 million would suffice.
On the Crime Commissioners’ Website, he publishes the following document.
It says
What we spend and how we spend it.
Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, tendering, procurement and contracts.What our priorities are and how we are doing.
Strategy and performance information, plans, assessments, inspections and reviews.How we make decisions.
Policy proposals and decisions. Decision making processes, internal criteria and procedures, consultations
As the published document says, I’d like information on what they spend and how they spend it. Including tendering and procuring of contracts. Also, info on the decision-making processes, such as who the f*ck authorised £75 million without any knowledge of the project requirements.
Andrew Snowden has been asked for his comments on this article.
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