MEMBERS of Cambridgeshire Police Authority have begun lobbying the county’s MPs to push for “more proportionate” budget cuts.

MEMBERS of Cambridgeshire Police Authority have begun lobbying the county’s MPs to push for “more proportionate” budget cuts.

The Authority has invited MPs to a meeting on Monday (September 13) to discuss the impact of the cuts on the force.

This follows the launch of a police cost-cutting consultation last month in response to the Government asking all public sector organisations to cut their budgets by between 25 and 40 per cent. For Cambridgeshire Constabulary this could mean trimming around �9million from the �130 million budget by next April.

A spokesman for the Authority described a 25 per cent cut as “unacceptable” and said the meeting will provide MPs with background on the funding challenges faced by the force.

A briefing document sent to MPs from the Authority said: “We appreciate the necessity of the cuts however they will fall disproportionately across forces and impact on Cambs in particular.

“Our aim is to facilitate an open discussion on the potential cuts the Constabulary is facing and how this will impact on communities.”

According to the Authority the cuts will have more of an impact on Cambridgeshire because the force already has 407 fewer officers than the national average of 1,395.

It also has the sixth lowest number of police staff per head of population in the country employing one member of police staff for every 759 people compared to a national average of 637.

The Authority said if the force were provided with the top end of funding receiving �250 per head like Cleveland, instead of �175 the cuts would be “bearable”.

Shailesh Vara, MP for North West Cambridgeshire said he wanted the force to receive its fair share of resources but said cuts are needed.

He said: “Clearly I will be doing whatever I can to make sure that Cambridgeshire has its fair share of resources from the limited amount that is available.

“But the cuts are not a surprise. We made it absolutely clear before the General Election that there would need to be cuts across the board. This is not easy but there is simply not the money available.”