Police funding “falls short” and will lead to council tax rises says South Yorkshire Police chief

Government funding accounts for 74 per cent of the force’s budget in South Yorkshire, and the other 26 per cent is raised through the council tax precept.

The government caps the amount that police and crime commissioners can raise the precept – and this year the government has raised the cap to £15.

Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire’s police and crime commissioner said that the government is forcing residents to “pay more for policing or cut the service”.

Dr Billings said: “The funding announcement falls short of what is needed to maintain an effective and efficient police force given the rising costs of everything – from pay to energy.

“The government have also assumed in all their calculations that PCCs will raise council tax precepts for policing by a maximum of £15 per annum for a Band D property.

“They are, in effect, setting the council tax for South Yorkshire and giving no real local discretion. If we were to set a lower figure, that would have serious implications for policing as the service would have to be cut back drastically.

“I am acutely aware of the struggles people are already facing because of the cost-of-living crisis.

“I assume the government understands the impact this crisis is having on households as well. This is why I am astonished that they will add to people’s burdens by shifting so much of the cost of funding policing next year from central government to the local tax-payer.

“They are presenting us in poorer parts of the country with a stark choice: pay more for policing or cut the service.

“I am currently consulting the public on whether they are prepared to pay a little more for policing next year. A £15 increase per year on Band D would equate to three pence per week, though most household in South Yorkshire would pay less because most properties are in Bands A and B.

“I am also asking the public what areas of policing they are prepared to see cut if they are not willing to pay a little more.

The survey launched by the PCC is available here.