A GREATER Manchester leader has questioned the details of a decision to award extra money to police for tackling knife crime.

Deputy mayor Bev Hughes said the £100m announced by chancellor Philip Hammond in this week’s Spring Statement was “welcome” but might not address the issue.

The funding falls short of the £200m to £300m requested by police chiefs last week in answer to ongoing high-profile knife crime incidents in the UK. The chancellor previously said police forces should use their existing budgets before announcing the new fund.

Ms Hughes said: “Increased funding from government to help our police tackle knife crime is of course welcome, however we will need to study the detail of the chancellor’s announcement. Regardless, this announcement comes after a decade of government cuts which have led to 2,000 fewer officers on our streets and the decimation of youth services.”

She went on to say that the problem of knife crime is “not solely a police issue” and that local authorities, youth services, health services and schools all needed to work towards a solution.