A living allowance for Thames Valley Police officers could be restored, following a meeting with Home Office officials.
The Government axed a housing allowance for officers in 1994 but many officers say they can now no longer afford to live in the area because of the boom in house prices.
Teachers and nurses have also been voicing their concerns about the high cost of living in Oxfordshire. Last week, the force's Chief Constable Charles Pollard and Glenn Maybury, the chairman of the Thames Valley Police Authority, met Home Office minister Charles Clarke to discuss the issue and got a positive response.
But hopes that the force could receive millions of pounds in compensation for policing demonstrations at Hillgrove Farm near Witney, and at the Newbury by-pass, have been dashed. Mr Maybury said: "It was a very open constructive meeting in which the minister listened carefully and was sympathetic to the points made."
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