Nottinghamshire Police precept to rise by 4.9%

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

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

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

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

Mr Godden proposed the £14 a year rise in the policing precept for a Band D property.

This means these residents will pay £296.10 for the 12 months starting in April.

Residents in a Band A property will pay £197.40 per year, an increase of £9.30 per annum.

Those in a Band B property would pay £230.30 per year, an increase of £10.85 per annum.

Meanwhile residents in a Band C property will pay £12.40 more per year, at a cost of £263.20 per annum, and those in the highest council tax band, Band H, will pay £592.20 per annum, £27.90 more per year.

The rise is the maximum allowed by Government, and is slightly above last year’s rise of 4.8%.

This year’s increase is expected to generate an extra £4.7million 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 £6million increase in the main police funding for Nottinghamshire, raising the county’s allocation to £169.2 million.

There is a further recruitment top up grant of £1.6million for an extra 30 officers, increasing staff numbers from 2,378 to 2,408.

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

To offset these challenges, the force has identified £4.9million in savings, including £1.3million with gas and electricity charges in police buildings, £1million reduced insurance costs, £500,000 to reduce overtime costs and £400,000 efficiencies in uniform and IT systems.

Funding will be directed towards the commissioner’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.

Nottinghamshire Police will also invest in technological advancements.

Mr Godden said not increasing the policing precept would see a ‘dramatic’ shortfall in services provided to the public.

He said this would “impact on policing numbers, police staff numbers and PCSOs”.

Panel member Linda Woodings 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.”

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.

“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.”

Helen Faccio asked the commissioner about efficiency savings and if this will impact policing across Nottinghamshire.

She said: “I want to bring up the proposed efficiency savings, which include reduction in officers’ working overtime.

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

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

“[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.”

The increase was approved by the panel.