Tri-Service

Labour: Budget Cuts Hitting Remembrance Parades

Remembrance Sunday parades are being hit by budget cuts, according to the Labour party.

Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham said annual ceremonies were being affected by a lack of police cover. He is calling on Theresa May to step in and hand over the cash forces need to ensure commemorations can be staged.

In a letter to the Home Secretary, Mr Burnham said under pressure police forces were being forced to choose which public events and calls are offered assistance. He wrote:

“It has been brought to my attention that, for the first time, this is impacting on the police presence required for road closures at annual parades and wreath-laying remembrance ceremonies."

"Following the centenary of World War One, there has been increased interest in these events and they have an important place in our national life.

"This year, events... have been shortened and the 97th annual parade in Epping, attended by hundreds of local people each year, has been cancelled for lack of the necessary police resources.

"With only one week to go until the public will expect Remembrance Sunday events to take place around the country, I would ask you to ensure that police forces receive the extra resources they require so that every event can go ahead and allow people to honour the memory of service men and women."

Mr Burnham has spoken about protecting Remembrance parades from budget cuts (Picture: NHS Confederation via Flickr)

It comes after a parade in Essex was cancelled, with others at risk of being cut short. John Duffell, organiser of the annual parade in Epping, Essex, said it would not go ahead this year. He told the Mail on Sunday:

“There’s been a parade here since 1919. The police are saying they won’t do the road closures we need... People are really disappointed.”

The Home Office, meanwhile, pointed out that historically police forces have not had a policy of routinely policing Remembrance parades and that decisions are an operational matter for the Chief Constable of each force concerned. The Minister for Policing, Crime, Criminal Justice and Victims Mike Penning said:

“Decisions on the operational deployment of resources are matters for Chief Constables, in association with Police and Crime Commissioners."

“Over the last five years, frontline services have been protected, public confidence in the police has gone up and crime has fallen to its lowest ever level.

“There is absolutely no question that the police still have the resources to do their important work.”

It comes after reduced police numbers meant that an annual parade in the village of Hoyland, South Yorkshire, which has taken place since the First World War, was at risk of being reduced to a wreath-laying ceremony.

Liam Hill, the Hoyland Branch Secretary of the Royal British Legion, said he received a call from South Yorkshire Police, who said they could no longer provide the manpower to close down roads for the parade.

With hundreds of members of the public expected to attend the commemorations, and the RBL not wishing to put volunteers in charge of stopping traffic, it took the decision to cut the parade short.

Happily for Hoyland a local privately-run traffic management company came forward with an offer to provide support for road closures free of charge. Organisers hope the parade can now go ahead as originally planned.

A spokesperson for The Royal British Legion said:

“In regards to Remembrance 2015 we are aware of some localised issues where we are working with police forces and local authorities to alter routes, and the Legion is grateful for their support in ensuring parades can go ahead.

"The Legion works with force planning officers to identify the best ways of managing any risks and ensuring that the parades take place with the minimum of disruption, but also with the dignity and solemnity that they deserve.”