Nottinghamshire council tax bills will include 4.9 per cent rise in police funding

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Nottinghamshire households face paying between £9.30 and £27.90 more per year towards policing.

Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Gary Godden (Lab) has set out this year’s budget for the police.

It includes a rise of 4.9 per cent for the part of local council tax bills set aside for policing, ahead of final total bills being set from April.

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The plans were discussed at a meeting of Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Panel at County Hall on February 3.

Nottinghamshire residents will see the police precept of their council tax bill rise by 4.9 per cent from April. Photo: SubmittedNottinghamshire residents will see the police precept of their council tax bill rise by 4.9 per cent from April. Photo: Submitted
Nottinghamshire residents will see the police precept of their council tax bill rise by 4.9 per cent from April. Photo: Submitted

The increase means a band D property will now pay £296.10 – a rise of £14 – more a year for policing from April.

Band A properties will pay £9.30 more a year, Band B properties £10.85 and band C properties £12.40.

Those in the highest council tax band, band H, will pay £27.90 more per year.

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The rise is the maximum allowed by Government and is expected to generate an extra £4.7m in funding for Nottinghamshire Police, documents say.

Mr Godden says the proposal comes in response to growing financial pressures.

The tax rise will fund the force for the year ahead alongside other Government grants and income.

The Government has granted a £6m increase in the main police funding for Nottinghamshire, raising the county’s allocation to £169.2m, and there is a further recruitment top-up grant of £1.6m for an extra 30 officers.

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Nottinghamshire Police has also identified £27m of budget pressures, including £19m to staff such as pay awards, increments, restructures and national insurance contribution rate changes, a £2m loss of income, £1m for inflation and £5m to meet demands and improve performance of the force.

To offset these challenges, the force has identified £4.9m in savings.

Funding will be directed towards the PCC’s priorities including a Neighbourhood Policing model and crime reduction with dedicated teams tackling knife crime and anti-social behaviour hotspots.

Other priorities include maintaining officer and PCSO numbers across each district and borough, as well as victim support and prevention, which will see better services for victims of domestic abuse.

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Mr Godden said not increasing the policing precept would see a ‘dramatic’ shortfall in services provided to the public which would ‘impact on policing numbers, police staff numbers and PCSOs’.

Panel member Coun Linda Woodings (Lab), of Nottingham City Council, spoke about how residents now have to pay more council tax in a cost of living crisis, despite some being dissatisfied with police services in Nottingham.

She said: “Can you explain how this precept will lead to a better service experience for Nottingham city residents and across the county?

People feel dissatisfied with the response that they’ve gotten, it’s not likely that they’ll agree to pay more for a service if they don’t think the service response is sufficient.”

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Mr Godden said: “The new neighbourhood policing model means officers will spend more time in their area and connect with their communities.

“What will hopefully happen is that more officer time means we get better relationships, improved time with our communities and make sure that time is spent in problem solving, making sure those communities have someone to go to when there is a problem.

He added: “I believe it’s all down to trust and confidence, and office presence.

"I think I’m right in that it is starting to resolve itself.”

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Broxtowe councillor Helen Faccio (Lab) asked about efficiency savings and if this will impact policing across Nottinghamshire.

She said: “Is this going to have an effect on service levels, and reducing the time police officers are working?”

Mr Godden said he was ‘confident’ that the savings proposals will ‘potentially come down’.

He added: “We have experienced officers and they’re doing things more efficiently now and that workforce plan is coming into effect.

“This will hopefully drive more savings.”

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However, the proposed rise was criticised by Hucknall councillor John Wilmott (Ash Ind), who said: “Frankly, I find it astonishing that this administration is asking residents to pay more and receive even less.

“Hucknall has lost its frontline police station, yet that money was not reinvested in local policing.

"Why should residents in Hucknall, and elsewhere, be forced to pay more for fewer services?

"The same happened in Sutton and Kirkby and across the county.

"I cannot and will not support a budget that asks residents to pay more while giving them less, not when the force remains in special measures.”

The increase was approved by the panel.

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