Council tax precept rise for police

SUFFOLK Police Authority today agreed a financial plan which will make multi-million pound savings while securing police officer numbers in the future.

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Members agreed a revenue budget of £112.2 million for policing Suffolk in 2012/13.

To balance the books during the course of the year, the constabulary must make more than £7 million in savings – part of an on-going four-year plan to 2014/15 to make cuts now estimated at £17.7 million.

Included in the budget is a council tax precept increase of 3.75% for the police’s part of the council tax. The increase was agreed unanimously after members considered and rejected an option to freeze council tax at last year’s level and accept a one-off government grant of £1.25 million for one year only.

The increase means the charge for a Band D property this year will be £166.77, an increase of £6.03 for the year.

Member of the police authourity heard Chief Constable Simon Ash say if council tax precept was frozen in 2012/13, it would result in the loss of at least £1.6 million in funding in subsequent years because the government grant would be a one-off payment, meaning officer numbers would remain below 1200 in the years ahead. This would place significant strains on operational capability and quality of service, Mr Ash warned.

The decision to support a precept increase will generate an extra £1.55 million in 2012/13 and set the constabulary on a path which will re-build officer numbers from their current level of 1,167 to more than 1,200 over the next few years.

Police authority Chair Joanna Spicer said: “Today’s budget and council tax decisions weren’t just about Suffolk’s policing service in the year ahead – but also putting safeguards in place for the future.

“The decisions were always going to be difficult. We have had to balance the need to continue along the path of making severe cuts while ensuring we maintain an efficient and effective policing service for local people.

“Throughout our debates, we have been mindful of the financial pressures facing Suffolk’s council tax payers – and I know that today’s decision for a small increase may disappoint some people.

“However, it is important to understand that we were facing a stark choice – and we all agreed the importance of maintaining the long-term resilience of the constabulary and its capability to provide a good quality policing service.”