South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt has expressed his concern after a report by senior police officers warned that a shortage of funding for the police could lead to the loss of 25,000 full-time officers nationally. A cut of 25,000 police officers would mean a reduction of 347 officers across Surrey with 60 of those jobs going in West SurreyThe report by the Association of Chief Police Officers warns that Government proposals to merge police forces and provide protective services cannot be achieved “without additional Government funding”. However, since the Home Office budget has been frozen, police forces across the country may be forced to cut their workforces to balance the books. The report highlights that “forces will need around 6% to 7% cashable savings per annum…through staff reductions…equivalent to holding (deleting) 25,000 police officer posts nationally.”Speaking on the issue, Jeremy Hunt said: “This is very concerning for all of us who live in the area. “People want to see more, not fewer, uniformed police officers patrolling the streets but instead the Surey police are being forced to waste money on an ill-conceived merger with Sussex. ""First it was local hospitals, now it is local police - what is happening to public services in our area?""