South Yorkshire residents to pay almost seven per cent more for policing

The county’s Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings will tell tomorrow’s meeting of the police and crime panel he intends to take up the government’s maximum allowed increase in the police council tax precept of 6.73 per cent.

Residents in a Band D property will pay an extra £15 per year to fund policing in South Yorkshire if the increase is agreed.

Around 37 per cent of the force’s funding will come from the council tax precept, which is expected to raise around £88m this year.

Dr Billings said that inflation applied to the police finances as to individual households, and the force is experiencing rising fuel and energy costs, as well as staff pay increases.

He added that the increase in funding that the government is allowing PCCs this year falls ‘far short’ of what would be needed to cover inflation, and is a cut in real terms.

He added that the increase in funding assumes that every PCC in the country raises council tax by the maximum the government is permitting this year – £15 on a Band D property.

A report to the police and crime panel adds that despite the precept increase, the force will have to use £5.8m of its reserves to balance the books this year.

South Yorkshire Police finance bosses have also had to find £6.1m in savings.

The report adds that the increase is needed to ‘invest in the required infrastructure to ensure all officers are fully supported in their journey into the force’, and to maintain the current levels of police officers.

The funding will also be used to improve assets such as technology and estates.

South Yorkshire Police are also expected to pay out around £5.8m this year for claims against SYP as a result of the Hillsborough football disaster and child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.

Of 3,000 respondents to an online consultation, 17 per cent would not want to pay any more towards policing, but 26 per cent would be willing to pay a rise in line with inflation.