EDM 1548: Funding for British Transport Police

That this House celebrates the vital role that British Transport Police (BTP) play in ensuring the security and efficiency of the transport network; recognises that BTP are a specialised force with skills unique to working on the transport network, for example, trained in rail safety, suicide prevention, and responding to trespassers on the line; notes that for the 2023-24 period, the previous Conservative government asked the BTP to find £5 million savings, and that this year, while the BTP requested a budget increase of 9.8%, the British Transport Police Authority have agreed only 4.6%; further notes that the force now faces an unprecedented £8.5m funding deficit that threatens jobs, and the safety and efficiency of our railways; understands that proposed job cuts and station closures will leave significant gaps in coverage, particularly in the West Coast Main Line, where there may be no BTP presence between Preston and Glasgow; also notes that as resources have been cut, levels of recorded crime on the transport network have increased; and believes that this underscores the urgent need for a fully funded BTP and that the transition to Great British Railways presents a key opportunity to rethink funding arrangements for the force with a funding settlement that secures our railways, making them safer and more efficient for passengers and transport workers.