Give views on planned 12% police precept rise
HALTON taxpayers have been asked if they are willing to pay up to £2 a month more towards policing – about 12% more than at present.
David Keane, Cheshire’s police and crime commissioner, has launched a consultation and is keen to hear the public’s views.
The £2 increase would be for a Band D household so many Halton residents’ increase would be less.
Mr Keane said Cheshire’s existing £200.44 police precept on Band D council tax bills is the ninth lowest in the country.
Raising it by £24 a year would equate to a rise of about 12%.
The increase will be on top of an anticipated 2% Halton council tax bill rise and 2% social care precept plus any further fire and parish council precepts.
Mr Keane said the force has been hit by cuts of £60m since 2020 and a ‘big decrease’ in officer and staff numbers.
He said the burden of paying for the police had been shifted from central government onto residents.
He said: “Whilst I believe that policing should be funded from government as the first responsibility of the state is keeping its people safe, I promised to protect our public and our public services and to carefully listen to the views of local residents.
“Historically, this annual consultation is set around the Government’s Provisional Police Funding Settlement which local police services usually receive in December.
“Due to the late general election in 2019, police services are yet to receive their Provisional Funding Settlement for 2020-21 so we have to work on an assumption of the continuance of a flat-cash settlement from Government with no additional funding to support additional demand or to cover pay and price inflation.”
He added: “The chief constable has advised me to consult with Cheshire residents on a precept that enables him to deliver a police service which keeps our communities safe. At £200.44, the police element of band D council tax in Cheshire is currently the ninth lowest in the country.
“And thanks to the support of local residents in last year’s policing precept, we have delivered on our promise of locally recruiting 43 officers in the last nine months.
“We are also expecting to see some of the police officer posts, of the circa 21,000 that have been lost over the last decade, start to be replaced by the Government funded national uplift programme.
“Cheshire are expecting to see 30 of these officers this year which will start to help us reverse the effects of austerity on policing but while these officers may be funded, there appears no protection for the current budget and for current officer numbers in Cheshire to be maintained.
“Therefore, the chief constable and I are asking residents and businesses in Cheshire if they are willing to support up to an extra £2 per month increase for the average band D household.
“This will enable the chief constable to invest in a number of areas which are operational threats for Cheshire police including county lines, major crime and modern slavery and human trafficking.”
Further roadshow events are happening around the county.
The consultation closes at midnight on Sunday, January 26.
Complete the survey online at www.cheshirepcc.gov.uk