Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore has today (Friday 30 January), confirmed the policing element of the council tax will increase by £15 a year (*based on a Band D property) for the next financial year.
At its meeting this morning, Suffolk’s Police and Crime Panel, the scrutiny body for PCC, supported the PCC’s proposal to increase the precept by 5.2%. This equates to 29p a week extra for a Band D property and 22p extra each week for a Band B. The panel voted eight for and one against the PCC’s proposal, with one abstention.
Tim Passmore said, “As your Police and Crime Commissioner, setting the budget is one of my most important responsibilities. I must ensure that the Constabulary has the resources it needs to provide an efficient and effective service, whilst ensuring that I use Suffolk taxpayers’ money for the maximum benefit.
“We will continue to ensure the Constabulary makes savings, but the settlement we have received will just not allow us to keep pace with the increased pressure on the force.
“I have gone through the budget in great detail with the Chief Constable and our respective Chief Finance Officers, and feel I had no option but to propose this increase. In short, the government settlement for the next financial year does not give me confidence that we will be able to maintain policing services in the county over the coming years. Without some level of investment, the Constabulary will simply not keep up with the increased demands placed upon it, and projections, provided by the Constabulary, show without this increase we are heading towards a significant deficit in future years.
“This additional funding will allow for investment in technology which in time will help us to free up police officer time, and this will allow us to improve visibility in our town centres and our rural communities, which I believe is what the people of Suffolk want.”
An on-line survey held during this month supported the PCC’s proposal to raise the precept; of the 1,206 respondents, 57.10% supported the proposal.