A candidate for the job of West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner says he will not ‘waste’ £60,000 on a Deputy if elected – and instead use the money to fund frontline policing.

Jay Singh-Sohal, the Conservative candidate in the May 2021 election, says he will reduce office costs and focus on “more police, less politics”. He has now called on other candidates for the role to also pledge to do the same.

He says that under a Labour PCC, the office has increased in size to more than 53 staff and a budget of £8.5 million a year - money taken from the West Midlands Police force.

He has slammed plans for a new £74,000-a-year 'fairness and belonging' director to 'oversee improved inclusive culture throughout the workplace'. Another new £74,000 police role – ‘Assistant Director Talent and Organisational Effectiveness’ – is also being currently advertised.

He has pledged to cut costs by:

  • Not appointing a Deputy PCC (£60k a year)
  • Axing the “strategic police and crime board” (£412,000 a year)
  • Reviewing the number and roles of staff (currently £1.8m a year)
  • Scrapping ‘unnecessary roles’ such as ‘Assistant Director Fairness and Belonging’ (£74k a year) and ‘Assistant Director Talent and Organisational Effectiveness’ (£74k a year
  • Increasing partnership working to create cost efficiencies with the Violence Reduction Unit, West Midlands Mayor's office and the region’s seven borough councils

He said: “I am the only one committed to cutting politics and bureaucracy in order to invest into tackling rising crime.”

He won the backing of James Morris, MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, who said: “After years of waste and questionable spending decisions, it is good to finally see a PCC candidate who will deliver what residents want - a sensible and responsible approach to spending taxpayers money and ensuring every penny is held accountable for tackling rising crime.”