‘PERFECT STORM’ PUSHES UP PRICE YOU PAY FOR POLICING

ORTH Wales’ crime commissioner said he listened to the public before increasing the cost people pay for the police. Andy Dunbobbin (pictured) said a “perfect storm” had pushed up the precept by 5.14%.

However he pledged to make a difference to the people of North Wales, recalling a time when his own family relied on benefits to survive. The police precept is lumped in with each annual council tax rise, which this year is costing each household 31p extra per week.

The rise follows a survey across all six North Wales counties in which residents were asked about policing in North Wales as well as selecting a range of precept increases, ranging from 19p to 35p extra a week.

North Wales Police will receive a grant of £88.7m in 2023/24 from the UK Government with the rest coming from North Wales Police’s precept, which will bring in just over £100.2m, amounting to a total budget of £188.9m.

Last year’s precept brought in £93.86m. The total budget was around £182.2m. This means that North Wales Police’s budget will have increased by £6.69m from last year with the precept increase bringing in £6.383m of that sum. The precept was agreed by the North Wales Police and Crime Panel where councillors heard how North Wales Police has reserves of around £42m. But in an exclusive interview with the local democracy reporting service, North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Mr Dunbobbin says a “perfect storm” had forced the police to put up its rates, despite the police making millions of pounds of behind-thescenes savings.

“There are a few things that have significantly impacted the level of the precept,” said Mr Dunbobbin. “The war in Ukraine has affected it; Brexit has had an impact as well, and we’ve had the pandemic. It has been a bit of a perfect storm where significant things have happened beyond anybody’s control. But what I can do is to try and mitigate as best as I can.

“I’ve been involved in public life since 2012 and a county councillor since 2013, and all I’ve experienced through my time previously as a county councillor for Flintshire is how to deliver more services with less money. That’s all I’ve ever known.

“So what I do know and where I’m able to draw on my experience is how to put that challenge to the police force. Public service, it’s still the same, isn’t it? The police are part of that public service family.

“We do have very robust and challenging conversations between myself and the chief (constable) and PCC and the force, and putting that challenge to them and seeing what it comes back with, without having any detrimental effect on how policing is delivered in North Wales, and it doesn’t.”

Many of the budget cuts proposed by North Wales Police were behind-thescenes savings, such as cuts to the emergency services network (a national scheme to improve ‘airwave communications network’), staff turnover costs (such as experienced staff retiring and being replaced by new staff on less pay), and cheaper IT contracts.

But Mr Dunbobbin said he understands personal hardship, admitting his own family had had, in the past, to rely on benefit payments. “What I do know is if people are under financial pressure, they are increasing themselves to being more vulnerable and susceptible to other things that are out there,” he said.

“And I’m more about how we can protect vulnerable people as best as we can. We all make choices in our lives. It might not be the right choice, but it is about supporting those and trying to help those people make betterinformed choices.”

Speaking at the crime panel meeting, Cllr Louise Emery commended the police for making behind-the-scenes cuts that wouldn’t damage police visibility, but also pointed out that North Wales Police had asked for more money, despite having a healthy bank balance, with £42m in reserves.

North Wales Police’s chief finance officer Kate Jackson said: “It is not much money for a large public-sector organisation, and if we set the council tax lower, then we would run the risk of running these reserves into negative territory very quickly.” North Wales Police Crime Panel backed the precept unanimously.