This would be an increase of £10 per annum (around 19p per week), from the 2019/20 level.
Legislation requires that the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) agrees their budget, associated precept and basic council tax for the forthcoming year before 1 March each year.
However, before doing so, the PCC must notify the relevant Police and Crime Panel, by the 31 January. The PCC must tell the panel of the proposed precept for the following financial year.
£700m for recruitment
The Home Office has told the PCC that “We are giving police forces £700 million for the recruitment of 6,000 additional officers by the end of March 2021.
“This represents an increase of almost 10% of the core grant funding provided last year.
“Assuming full take up of precept flexibility, overall funding for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) will increase by £915 million to £13.1 billion next year.”
As part of this flexibility, PCCs have the option to increase their Band D precept by £10 in 2020/21. This is without the need to call a local referendum. In Cleveland this equates to an increase of 3.99%.
The public consultation had 368 responses. It resulted in the following findings:
- 63.9% said they agree with the proposed 3.99% increase. However, they would like to see the Chief Constable make significant improvements to Cleveland Police
- 36.1% said they do not agree with the proposed increase of 3.99%. They understand this means Cleveland Police will have to make cuts to services. It will also set the Force’s progress back.
If the precept is increased by £10, the Net Budget Requirement is expected to increase in 2020/21, by over £8.4m (or 6.4%.)
After taking into account the additional grant that will be provided if the Force deliver against the Government’s recruitment targets for Police Officers, the total funding available in 2020/21, in comparison to 2019/20, is forecast to increase by over £10m.
The PCC is asked to give approval,to the Police and Crime Panel, the Police Precept for 2020/21 as £260.54, for a Band D property in Cleveland.
Decision 2019-00132968. Agreement on the Precept (Funding) Proposal for 2020/21 (application, 198kB)