Police to hike tax by £5 Jamieson: Planned rise needed to plug Whitehall funding gap
THE West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner is planning to increase the council tax bill by £5 next year in a bid to fill a funding gap from central government.
David Jamieson has launched a consultation about his budget plans but says the increase will still leave the West Midlands with the second lowest council tax bill in the country.
And, he says, it will be much lower than neighbouring forces.
The West Midlands Police precept, which is currently £111.55 for a Band D council taxpayer, is around half of the highest charged, which is £220.19 in Surrey.
Mr Jamieson said if the current police precept remains frozen at its current levels, West Midlands Police will lose out on £3.4 million per year, meaning a total loss in funding of at least £10.2 million by 2019/20.
The Labour PCC says the loss of funding would have a significant impact on policing across the West Midlands – with inevitable reductions in service.
“The public have made it clear to me that, despite Government cuts, they want local neighbourhood policing to be protected,” said Mr Jamieson. “To protect neighbourhood policing and get the force ready for the new threats the West Midlands faces I am recruiting 800 officers, 150 PCSOs and 200 specialist police staff.
“The Government has made it clear that to cover their reduction in police funding they expect PCCs to increase council tax precept by the maximum amount. In the West Midlands that would mean council tax increasing by £5 a year – or just under 10p a week – for a Band D council taxpayer.”
As part of the Comprehensive Spending Review last year, the Chancellor gave police forces with historically low precepts, such as the West Midlands, the ability to raise the precept by £5 per annum, compared to a two per cent cap for other areas.
Mr Jamieson says the increase would maintain police funding at its current level and help to fill the gap in funding from the Government, who are continuing to cut the amount of money they give to West Midlands Police.
The provisional grant settlement from the Home Office has shown the force will receive £6 million less in Government funding than last year.
Mr Jamieson added: “A £5 increase on the policing precept in the West Midlands would still mean that local people are paying more than £60 less than neighbouring forces such as Staffordshire, West Mercia and Warwickshire. Before I make my final decision on the local policing precept, however, I want to hear the views of the public. Please get in touch and fill in our online survey.”
The Commissioner is seeking views on the level of precept for 2017/18, and consultation will run until January 27. For details, visit www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk