Policing precept: South Yorkshire residents set for tax rise to pay for policing costs

South Yorkshire Mayor, Oliver Coppard, has today received the support of the Police and Crime Panel to increase the policing precept for 2026/27, enabling the precept to be increased by £15 per year for a Band D property.

He says the precept rise will provide South Yorkshire Police with additional funding to strengthen neighbourhood policing, increase visible patrols and enhance the force’s capacity to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

The precept is the amount added the the council tax bill for policing costs.

A meeting of the Police and Crime Panel today (Monday, February 2) supported the recommendation of a precept increase of £15 or 29 pence per week (based on a Band D property) for the financial year of 2026/27.

Most properties in South Yorkshire (57 per cent) are in Band A where the increase will be 19 pence per week or an annual increase of £10.

A public consultation around the proposal, undertaken in January, gathered 1,886 responses from residents across South Yorkshire. The results showed overall support for the proposal, with 55 per cent of respondents in favour of the increase, 39 per cent opposed and six per cent unsure.

The decision by the Police and Crime Panel means the precept increase will raise and additional £5.7m investment into police funding, bringing the total funding from central government to £291m and the Council Tax precept (£106.7m) to £397.8m. This represents a five per cent (£19 million) increase on last year’s settlement.

Mr Coppard, said: “I’m pleased the Police and Crime Panel has offered their support for increased funding for South Yorkshire Police. These decisions are never easy, but ultimately, they agreed with me that the police simply need more funding to keep up with the costs of inflation, and to give them the resources they need to do the job we all want them to be able to do.

“I firmly believe the agreed ‘police precept’ strikes the right balance between keeping our communities safe and keeping bills as low as possible. Most families across South Yorkshire will pay between 20 and 25 pence more per week to protect neighbourhood policing, tackle anti-social behaviour, increase visible policing and take on serious and organised crime.

“The precept will allow continued investment in the areas that matter the most to all of us who live here.”

Councillor Ben Miskell, chairman of the Police and Crime Panel, said: “As a panel, we understand the financial pressures many households are facing and we have carefully reviewed the budget to ensure it offers value for money.

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“While any increase in the precept is difficult, South Yorkshire Police needs sufficient resources to maintain and improve essential services. For these reasons, the panel supports the Mayor’s proposal.”

The panel’s approval means the Mayor can now formally set the precept for 2026/27, ensuring South Yorkshire Police has the resources it needs to continue improving public safety and delivering policing services across the county.

Last month it was reported that council tax in Sheffield would rise by nearly five per cent each year for the next three years as the local authority continues to manage its overspend.