Opportunity for Residents to call for more Community Policing Funding

It has become the norm for the provisional police funding settlements to be partly contingent on households paying a share of the proposed increase through Council Tax precept. We published similar posts on Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) surveys regarding increasing the Police element of Council Tax in December 2018, December 2020 and January 2022.

For those wishing simply to proceed to the survey, here is the link:

https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90503915/OPCC-public-consultation

The online consultation will close at 12pm on Friday 13th January 2023.

How Residents can vote for greater local funding

Many residents comment that there is a need for greater local and community policing. We believe that it is very important that as many residents as possible take the opportunity to express this view via their survey choices:

• The survey has a selection of ‘drag-and-drop’ choices, with several relating to local and community policing.
• PCC Matthew Barber states: “I want to see increased investment in community policing and improving communication between the public and the police.”
• Most policing funding comes from Central Government, but over recent years the portion from Council Tax precept has steadily increased. The precept portion in Thames Valley is now around 44%, having been 37% in 2015-16. The average across England is 33%.

Details of the Funding Settlement

The funding settlement for police forces across the country for the next financial year was announced in December. In Thames Valley, this means an additional £5.1m in Government grant, an increase of 1.8%.

Alongside this funding from the Home Office, the Government has also allowed Police & Crime Commissioners to increase council tax by up to £15 (for a Band D property) in order to make additional investments in policing.

In Thames Valley, that would mean a further £14m of investment.