PM pledges continued investment in public services

Gordon Brown has visited an East London school to see the impact of public services on communities as he pledged to continue improving and investing in frontline services.

The Prime Minister and Home Secretary Alan Johnson met teachers, police officers and youth workers at Stepney Green school in Tower Hamlets, East London, to hear how they are working together to stop young people becoming involved in drugs.

The initiative is one example of the work being done by neighbourhood police - one area of public services which has been expanded as part of the Government’s drive to invest in the sector.

The PM said:

“We have just been expanding neighbourhood policing to every area of the country. We will continue to do it. We want people to be safer. Neighbourhood policing will be concentrated on the problems of burglary and anti social behaviour. We cannot see a cut - we will not allow it to be cut.”

There are now 3,600 neighbourhood policing teams across the country. The Government said that, in conjunction with Safer Schools Partnerships, they are helping to tackle youth crime issues.