Furore over four jobs

By Paul Barltrop
BBC Politics Show West

The Conservative-run county council is considering cutting its support to help balance its books. PCSOs in Somerset are partly funded by the council It has been seized on by the Liberal Democrats, who lost control of the authority in June 2009.

A political row is raging over funding for Police Community Support Officers (PCSO's) in Somerset.

The Conservative-run county council is considering cutting its support to help balance its books.

PCSOs in Somerset are partly funded by the council

It has been seized on by the Liberal Democrats, who lost control of the authority in June 2009.

They have raised it in Parliament and brought their party leader to visit, prompting claims of scaremongering.

Nick Clegg visited a boxing club in Taunton, set up in 2006 by a local PCSO.

He chatted cheerfully to boxers, but his tone was serious when asked about funding.

"If you're sitting there locked in your room because you're fearful of going out, particularly if you're elderly, just one Community Support Officer doing their rounds in your neighbourhood makes a massive difference."

Council to commons

These are not easy times for the Lib Dems in Somerset.

At the last election they lost control of the county council after 16 years. At the next election they could lose parliamentary seats.

Keen to find ways to attack their Tory foes, they have gone on the offensive.

An issue the county's three Lib Dem MPs raised it in Parliament.

"A cut of £129,000 would make the concerns that the public understandably have about crime in Somerset all the more acute," declared Taunton MP Jeremy Browne.

At a full council meeting a procession of Lib Dem members condemned the threat.

The county council puts in £430,000 each year

Somerset has around 160 PCSOs, mostly funded by central government.

The county council puts in £430,000 each year; the suggested cut of £129,000 equates to four posts.

And the total number may not even drop: the council expects to get some different government funding which will be used for several PCSOs.

That means the total headcount may remain unchanged.

The council's Conservative leader Ken Maddock claims it is political opportunism.

"It's quite wrong of people to get hold of one particular item, express it as a done deal, and then to start scaring people that crime is going to increase."

In his view what Somerset is doing now, seeking cuts and reducing spending, other authorities will do in future.

"There will be big changes and we're going to have to get used to living within our means instead of trying to borrow and tax our way out of problems," he said.

Budget setting is underway in local government; a great deal more cuts and controversy are expected.