---

Council Tax Capping (Surrey)

I thank my hon. Friend. He has picked on one of the key points that I and, I assume, many of my hon. Friends will touch on later in this short debate. In setting their 2009-10 budget, Surrey police have been forced to cut another 144 posts by focusing on non-operational areas and investing in new technology. They have also managed to move extra resources to the front line. Without capping, the force is, in essence, delivering unrivalled value for money for the community. The latest reductions were carefully considered and programmed early, without the urgency that will come from capping and re-billing. It is astonishing that the police authority has been singled out for capping when it clearly delivers value for money.