Early action and school PCSOs consultation 2018
| Purpose | Like many councils across the country, Lancashire County Council continues to face an unprecedented financial challenge due to continued funding cuts by Government, rising costs and rising demand for the services we provide. We are committed to providing the best services we can to the people of Lancashire, particularly to the most vulnerable in our communities. However the council's financial position remains extremely challenging, with a forecasted funding gap of £144m in 2021/22. Because of this, we still need to make some difficult decisions in order to make further savings. On 18 January 2018, the county council's Cabinet agreed to consult on the proposed removal of part-funding the police community support officers (PCSOs). There are currently 15 early action and school PCSOs across the county, jointly funded by Lancashire County Council and Lancashire Constabulary. Originally, the posts were part-funded in areas that needed extra support for young people. Since then the constabulary has moved to an early action model and the PCSOs now support both young people and their families. Early action teams work with children, young people, adults and families. For example, they work with 7-17 year olds who are causing low-level anti-social behaviour or are at risk of future offending behaviour. They offer interventions on knife crime, gangs, anti-social behaviour, internet safety, crimes and consequences, alcohol and drugs - implications and the law, and a racist incident package. They also work with partner agencies to offer specific support to families as part of ongoing social care. The roles of the PCSOs vary from area to area to meet local needs. The school PCSOs work directly with particular a school or schools. The early action PCSOs work in a dedicated early action role, or a more general role but carrying out early action work. If Lancashire County Council withdraws the part-funding, Lancashire Constabulary must decide on - the number of PCSO posts it has the funding to keep - whether those will continue to carry out early action work in partnership with social services, schools and other partners We would like to hear your views on Lancashire County Council's proposed removal of part-funding for the 15 PCSOs and the potential removal of those posts. |
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| Subject |
Crime and community safety |
| Commissioned by | Health, Equity, Welfare and Partnerships |
| Geographic area |
All of Lancashire |
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| Method |
Questionnaire - online |
| Consultation with |
Businesses General public Public authorities Schools/parents/governors |
| Date | 05/03/2018 - 15/04/2018 |
| Undertaken by | Business Intelligence |
Contact information
For more information about this research contact:
Business Intelligence
Email: haveyoursay@lancashire.gov.uk