South Yorkshire Police council tax fee could rise by £13 per year as government funding ‘falls short’

Although a formal decision is yet to be made later this month, the government has increased the amount that police and crime commissioners can raise the council tax precept by £13 per year.

In order to fund policing services this year, £93m needs to be raised from South Yorkshire residents, with £261.5m coming from the government.

This is a 10 per cent increase from last year’s grant of £233.8m – but South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner (PCC) Dr Alan Billings says the funding ‘falls short’, and that he will be ‘forced’ to raise the precept.

The government settlement is the amount of funding each police force receives from the government to provide policing, community safety and victim services. This amounts to around 74 per cent of the force budget, with the remaining 26 per cent funded through the council tax precept.

Dr Billings said: “The grant the government is making available falls short of what is needed to meet all inflationary pressures and maintain an effective and efficient police force.

“We are forced to raise the precept and to ask the force to make savings if a balanced budget is to be achieved.

“There is a perception in many of our communities that levels of crime and anti-social behaviour are increasing.

“If they are to be tackled effectively, the police service must be properly funded. Members of the public will be asked to pay more or face cuts to the service. In the current financial climate, this is a difficult ask from our local council taxpayers.

“Public finances are in a poor shape nationally and this settlement is unlikely to enable significant improvements in service, even if PCCs make full use of the precept flexibility, not least because in areas such as South Yorkshire, council tax yields are weak due to low property values and growing poverty. Yet these are often the communities where some of the most serious crimes are committed.

“Despite the tight finances, I will continue to work with the chief constable to use every penny to support the priorities people most want to see – not least targeting neighbourhood crimes and bringing offenders to justice.”

The Home Office says neighbourhood crime has fallen by 50 per cent since 2010 and there is “more support than ever before for policing”, including a “record number of police officers” and a 30.7 per cent rise in cash terms in the last three years.

In mid-January, the 2024/25 budget priorities and precept increase will be decided at the meeting of South Yorkshire Council Leaders.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner is currently consulting with the public on the setting of the council tax precept as well as asking them to identify policing priorities and areas where they think savings can be made.

To have your say on the precept and priorities you can click on the following link: South Yorkshire Precept and Priorities Survey