Warwickshire council tax payers to be consulted on how much they would be willing to pay towards policing in Warwickshire

By the end of last year Warwickshire Police had helped to reduce overall crime levels in Warwickshire by 25% since 2006. Levels of violent crime have reduced by more than 30% over the same period.

The force has recently produced a “Blueprint for Change” which will generate ongoing savings of £13.4 million from 2011/12. This is on an annual budget of £100.769 million, and by the end of the period will constitute a reduction in this budget equivalent to 13.3%. The significant benefit of the blueprint is that current front-line performance levels and standards would be protected.

On the basis of the information about future grant settlements which we have now received from the coalition government, additional savings of £9.5 million, over and above those that will be achieved through implementing the blueprint, will be required from the Warwickshire Police service over the next four years. Moreover, the government’s savings targets are front-loaded, so additional savings of £3.0 million are required in 2011/12. It is unlikely that additional savings on this scale can be delivered without affecting current service levels.

The figures above are based on the equivalent of a 2.5% increase in council tax, although the government has promised to pay a grant (the Council Tax Reduction Grant) to all authorities who limit their tax increase to 2.5%, to avoid the increase being passed on to council tax payers. If the tax increase is set above 2.5% no grant would be received.

The purpose of this consultation is to determine whether there is a public willingness to meet some of the savings target through an increase in council tax in order to minimise any reductions in the police service. The current level of the Police Council Tax for an average property (Band D) is £174.10 a year. By way of examples, a council tax increase of £5 per year would generate further income of £129,000 per annum; an additional annual council tax payment of £8.70, a 5% increase, would generate an additional £868,000 each year; an increase of £10 a year would generate additional income for the police of £1,125,000 each year.

Before the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) Warwickshire Police faced a funding gap of £13.4 million. In November the Police Authority approved a new policing model which, when fully implemented, will deliver this £13.4 million efficiency. However, on the back of the government's grant reductions announced in the recent Comprehensive Spending Review the figures have been reworked and we now face an additional funding gap of £9.5 million.

The Police Authority is exploring all options to close this funding gap while delivering the greatest protection from harm from the resources that are available.

A proportion of everyone's council tax goes to Warwickshire Police Authority to provide policing services in the county which best protect communities from harm. The element of the council tax paid by residents is called the police precept.

Previously the government has stated that the police precept must not be increased and they have capped the maximum that authorities could increase the precept by.

Next year the government has offered all local authorities the opportunity to increase the precept anything up to 2.5 per cent and this will be paid for by a grant from the government and not by the council tax payer.

If Warwickshire Police Authority increased the precept by 2.5 per cent and received the maximum government grant there would remain a £9.5m gap in the budget for the next four years and further savings would be required to meet this gap.

However, the Authority also has the option to increase the precept above 2.5 per cent and reduce the funding gap. If this decision was made and an increase in the precept of more than 2.5 per cent was made the Authority would receive no grant and the entire percentage increase would be funded by the council tax payer. For 2010/2011 the Band D Council Tax is £174.10. Every 1% increase in council tax would add £1.74 to the Band D council tax and would generate £347,000 of additional income towards reducing the funding gap and maximising the resources available to protect our communities.

Warwickshire Police Authority is asking the public "How much extra would you be prepared to pay to minimise reductions in your policing services?"

Chair of the Police Authority, Ian Francis said: "In 2006/7 Warwickshire Police entered into a force change programme to increase levels of protection for communities. Since this time, and against a backdrop of radical changes and financial reductions, the force performance speaks for itself. Since 2006/07 to December 2010 all crime has reduced in Warwickshire by 28.9 per cent (9,959 fewer crimes). During the same period serious violent crime has reduced by 24.4 per cent (691 crimes) and robbery has reduced by 40.5 per cent (142 crimes). Also the number of homes burgled has reduced by 34.3 per cent (725 crimes) and vehicle crime has reduced by 45 per cent (2,456 crimes).

"Similarly Warwickshire Police has done a fantastic job over the last few months to identify over £13 million of savings, from the budget of £100 million, which they can implement without affecting levels of service.

"However, the challenge presented by the Government's financial settlement for the police means that the additional savings we will be required to find will inevitably impact on services to the public. Consequently we consider that we must consult the public to see whether people are prepared to pay more council tax to avoid service reductions.

"We have, therefore, launched a survey on our website - www.warwickshirepa.gov.uk  where the public can say whether they would be prepared to pay more council tax to help protect service levels and, if so, how much.

"The Police Authority will consider the results of the survey on February 23 when it meets to set the budget for 2011-12. We would encourage everyone to let us know their views. If you do not have access to a computer you can use computers located in every library."

The Police Authority will be meeting on February 23 to set the 2011/12 budget and approve the level of council tax. At this stage the authority has no views on a particular level of council tax but the results from this survey will help inform the decision-making at the Police Authority. Members of the public are asked to visit the Police Authority's website and participate in the survey. The website address is:

http://www.warwickshirepa.gov.uk