The Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Jonathan Evison sets the amount local people pay in Council Tax to fund Humberside Police each year. As part of that process must seek the views of residents on police funding via a survey.
Around 65% of police funding comes from central Government and the rest is raised through a portion of Council Tax known as the Policing Precept. The Government made its police funding announcement on 17th December and you can read it here, the figures quoted in the announcement assume that PCC’s will raise the precept by £14 a year, (27p per week) for people who live in a Band D property*.
PCC Jonathan Evison said: “The number of police officers remains at its highest since 2008. We are continuing to see strong performance in crime detection and we have a continued focus on supporting victims of crime. The Humberside Police Force Control Room is leading the way nationally in responding to the public by phone and online. When I set the budget 12 months ago with the Chief Constable, they made several pledges including improving the speed of response to 999 and 101 calls, enhancing the focus on violence against women and girls and stalking and providing an additional policing presence to coastal areas. All of these commitments were delivered.
“When I was re-elected in May, I stated my priorities going into this term would be to ensure more visible policing, more initiatives to tackle drugs and anti-social behaviour, fair policing to tackle rural, coastal and urban crime and more new technology to help make our roads safer and reduce casualties. I am also maintaining strong support for victims of crime and increasing the work to end violence against women and girls.
I am here to represent the public on policing and will continue to do so for all our communities.
“For the next financial year in 2025/26, to continue to advance, I need to make a small increase to the policing precept of your Council Tax in line with Government recommendations.
I am asking for your views on the following options:
Option 1: An increase of £9.99 per year (19p per week) on a Band D* property which would also require £6.6m extra funding from reserves, which is not sustainable and would therefore require a reduction of a minimum 25 Police Officers.
Option 2: An increase of £13.99 per year (27p per week) on a Band D* property, which would also require £5.4m extra funding from reserves.
Option 3: An increase of £19.99 per year (38p per week) on a Band D* property, which would enable planned improvements to be further enhanced. This option would require a public referendum.
* Most properties within the Humberside Police area are in lower Council Tax bands than D, on which the Government bases its financial forecasts. 34% of households are in Band A, 21% in Band B and 16% in Band C so, for the vast majority, the proposed increases are smaller than the proposed 27p per week.
“Whilst I appreciate any increase is always unwelcome, I have a responsibility to ensure the best achievable position for our communities. The government has issued budget plans for policing based on me raising the precept at £14 for a Band D home. This budget has to take into account the costs the government has imposed in relation to enhanced public sector pay awards and national insurance costs. Due to our effective financial planning and focus on efficiency the force is able to manage to continue to offer more to the public despite the challenging rising costs. As a resident and taxpayer myself, I always want to know what I’m getting for my money, so it’s only fair that I provide an illustration of what this increase would provide. I asked Chief Constable Judi Heaton to give me her plans to continue to improve the service based on a £13.99 precept increase and she has committed to the following:
- Renewed focus on visible policing to further build public confidence and a commitment to maintaining neighbourhood police officer and PCSO numbers at their current levels
- Increase the number of specialists to address fraud offences and provide support and advice alongside online crime prevention tools
- Following a successful pilot in summer 2024 of Operation Coastline, ensure a long term commitment to having an enhanced police presence in coastal resorts as a response to increased visitor numbers
- Develop an enhanced drone capability which is significant in seeking to improve response to a variety of crimes, including rural, missing people and detection of offenders
- Continue to pursue offenders through Operation Shield in order to disrupt, dismantle and identify suspects involved in a whole host of crimes ensuring we share details with the public of how we spend the money we seize from criminals to support crime prevention activity in the community
- Challenge the force to further streamline day to day processes to create capacity to do more that matters to the public
- Proactively invest in our Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology to ensure enhanced coverage on road in and out of the county, to protect and enable the force to proactively identify travelling criminals into our area, taking action to deter them in the future
- Continue to extend the reach of our our highly successful Rural Task Force during busy periods supported by wider specialist resources to ensure our rural areas receive the service they need at times of peak demand.
“In this survey I am asking if you would support an increase in council tax precept, and which of the three options you prefer, or whether you prefer no increase at all. You will also be asked which areas of policing are the most important to you. Thank you for taking the time to give me your views.”
