Julia Mulligan, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, has today (4 February) formally put forward her proposal to raise the police precept by 1.99 per cent to North Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Panel.
Under government rules precepts are not allowed to rise by 2 per cent without a referendum taking place.
The Panel accepted the proposal, voting unanimously in favour of the increase which will mean an extra 8p a week for the average Band D home.
During 2015/16 a Band D home will pay:
- £212.77 – North Yorkshire
- £295 – London
- £162.73 – County Durham
The proposal followed a county-wide consultation in which respondents were asked about their views on the precept.
The consultation included an independent telephone survey of residents as well as an online survey.
1,750 people took part and the results showed:
- 61 per cent of respondents want to increase the precept by 1.99 per cent
- five per cent want to increase it by more than two per cent
- 34 per cent want to freeze the precept.
A 1.99 per cent increase would equate to 8p a week for the average Band D home, or £4.15 extra per year. Across the whole county the increase in the precept will raise about £1.2 million.
Around 55 per cent of funding for North Yorkshire Police comes from government and 45% is raised locally, mainly through the precept.
Julia Mulligan said:
I welcome the Panel’s backing for the 8p a week precept increase.
When the Government decided on its contribution to North Yorkshire’s force, they assumed a precept rise of 1.99 per cent. That means a freeze in the precept would effectively mean a cash cut of £1.2 million. On top of the previous cuts and new demands on policing, that would inevitably hit services.
I have therefore listened carefully to the public and, given their clear steer, feel this is the right action to take.
This will, of course, help us fund the extra officers we are recruiting as well as the extra investment we are putting into tackling crimes involving vulnerable people.
