Today (16 July 2026) Luke Myer MP spoke with Chief Constable Victoria Fuller and congratulated her on Cleveland Police being awarded the highest possible grading under a new national performance system.
The force has been placed in Level One under the Labour Government’s new Policing Performance System. The assessment recognises the progress Cleveland Police has made in recent years despite operating with limited resources, and comes ahead of its next full inspection later this year.
Luke Myer MP continues to campaign for more frontline policing in Cleveland. In Parliament this week, he welcomed the 48 new neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs recruited over the past year following Labour Government funding, but pressed ministers again on when the outdated police funding formula would finally be overhauled to reflect the area’s high levels of deprivation. Policing Minister Sarah Jones confirmed the current formula is decades-old and that the Government is working on reforms.
Since July 2024, Cleveland Police have had an additional £7.4 million in funding from the Labour Government, alongside £2.39 million through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee to recruit new police officers, PCSOs and Special Constables. However, Luke has repeatedly called in Parliament for the formula to be changed to get more officers on the beat.
Luke Myer MP said:
“Getting the highest possible national grading is a real vote of confidence in Cleveland Police and the hardworking officers, staff and volunteers who serve our communities every day.
“They’ve shown what can be achieved despite years of operating with an outdated funding formula that doesn’t properly reflect the challenges our area faces. I’ll keep pressing ministers to reform that formula so Cleveland gets the resources it deserves, helping put more officers back on our streets and building on the excellent progress the force has already made.”
On the performance system, Policing Minister Sarah Jones said:
“For too long, failings in policing have been identified too late, allowing poor performance to go unchecked. Our new system will catch problems earlier, ensuring forces are challenged, supported and held accountable for improving. We are strengthening our powers to ensure we drive up standards, to catch more criminals and cut crime.”
On the funding formula, Minister Jones said:
“Cleveland Police is one of the forces that we talk to regularly, because the current police funding formula is not fit for purpose. It is very old, and it needs reform.
“We are reforming the whole structure of policing, and as part of that we will review the formula to bring it up to date and make it fit for purpose.”