Aberavon MS welcomes progress towards delivering key PCSO election pledge

David Rees MS, Welsh Labour’s Member of the Senedd for Aberavon, has welcomed news that most of the extra 100 PCSOs promised by the Welsh Labour Government at the Senedd election last year are already in place.

In an update from Welsh Labour’s Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt MS, on the delivery of the key Senedd election pledge to fund 600 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in Wales, the Minister confirmed that “by the end of the 2021-2022 financial year the majority of the 100 PCSOs were in post, making an even bigger difference than before to our streets and communities.”

In August 2021, the Welsh Labour Government announced an extra £3.7m in funding for the additional PCSOs across Wales, bringing the total budget to over £22m while delivering one of Welsh Labour’s key election pledges from the Senedd election.

The Welsh Labour Government has funded an extra 500 PCSOs in Wales for over a decade now, showing its commitment to supporting safe and strong communities. This decision was made to help mitigate the impact austerity had had on policing budgets and has been maintained since.

Welcoming the update, David Rees MS said:

“At the Senedd election in May 2021 I stood on a platform that promised to strengthen support for safer communities, so I’m really pleased that the majority of the extra 100 PCSOs are now in post.

“While the Tories in Westminster inflicted a decade of cuts to policing across the UK, our Welsh Labour Government stepped up and has funded 500 PCSOs on our streets since 2011 to support neighbourhood policing.

“Communities right across Wales have appreciated the difference that PCSOs make to their neighbourhoods. I’m pleased that our Welsh Labour Government has already delivered on this pledge, just one year on, demonstrating its commitment to keeping our communities and neighbourhoods safe.”