The Policing Board has called on the Secretary of State to reconsider his response to a round table meeting request to collectively discuss and determine a shared understanding of the responsibilities required to effectively address legacy matters and current legacy funding arrangements for policing.
The Board had written in June 2025 in support of the Chief Constable’s call for an urgent meeting with the Secretary of State, the First and Deputy First Ministers, the Justice Minister, along with Board representatives. Board Members share the Chief Constable’s concerns about the ‘unsustainable position’ and ‘predicament’ of the service to continue to meet current day policing demands alongside those associated with legacy.
In a letter to the Secretary of State Policing Board Chair Mukesh Sharma said:
“I note in your reply of 18 August you state that you “do not accept the view that funding is not available to the Executive to cover legacy matters”, and that “the budget for policing in Northern Ireland is for the Justice Minister to set and for the Chief Constable to prioritise”. Your letter goes on to state that “we must all endeavour to balance competing priorities as best we can in this time of financial challenge while seeking to fulfil our legal obligations”.
The position you set out, coupled with the position of the Executive, which does not consider that it is funded to cover legacy matters, underlines exactly the predicament the Chief Constable finds himself in. A position that we as a Board find unsustainable. The Board does not consider that the request for a roundtable discussion was an unreasonable ask.
The Board wholly appreciates that the financial situation right across Government locally and nationally is challenging. How PSNI is endeavouring to balance its competing priorities within a finite financial envelope drives the agenda for our Board and Committee meetings and is driven by a new Policing Plan and performance monitoring arrangement.
The challenges faced by the service in delivering against the policing plan within their existing resources are well rehearsed and the business case for recovery of officer numbers is accepted, albeit as yet deemed unaffordable. Work continues through the normal channels including with the Justice Minister to ensure we collectively do all we can to secure funding for the recovery business case.
Addressing legacy however, requires a different approach both in terms of how the PSNI is funded to deal with legacy and the approach adopted for example responding to civil cases where PSNI are a named party along with other agencies. The Board believes that the NIO needs to be engaged in that conversation.
Can I once again as Board Chair reiterate that I am making no comment on the current legacy arrangements, those are political issues, rather just how PSNI engages with the processes and is funded to do so.
The Board is particularly concerned about this issue because of the impact legacy issues have on trust and confidence in policing within some communities and the consequent impact this can have on recruitment to and the representativeness of the service. This is something we all should be concerned about. We appreciate these are undoubtedly sensitive and complex matters but as stated in my earlier letter we believe the service is trying to find creative solutions, but Government support is needed. A round table discussion is urgently needed”
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For further information please contact the Board Communications Office on 02890408500 or information@nipolicingboard.org.uk
At the Policing Board meeting on 2 October 2025 the Board agreed that the contents of the most recent letter to the Secretary of State should be made open.
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