“The Government has charged me with the responsibility to maintain a police service that is efficient and effective.
“The resources that we need to maintain our police force come from two main sources, one of which is grant that the Government makes to Merseyside Police accounts for 83% of their budget of £320.272million.
“That means that more than eight in every £10 that Merseyside Police costs to run is provided directly by the Government and amounts to £257.892. This has been cut by £12.7million compared with the grant we received in the last financial year.
“In order to balance the budget next year, Merseyside Police will have to cut £16million from their running costs, but even this will not close the funding gap.
“I must raise the remaining £62.38million from local sources in order to avoid making even more cuts to the jobs of police officers, staff and PCSOs.
“I propose to release £8.983million from remaining reserves to help close the gap, but I must raise £53.397million next year if I am to avoid losing even more people.
“That is why I am asking the public to pay an increase in their precept, paid as council tax and collected by the local authorities across Merseyside. The increase of 1.95% is necessary. It is the most that I am allowed to raise and will safeguard 25 police constable posts or slightly more PCSOs and staff.
“It means that a family living in a Band A property will be asked to pay 4 pence per week more than they are already paying, or approximately £2 more per year.
“Currently a family living in a Band A property is paying £104.42 per year to maintain the police service. They will be asked to pay £106.45 next year. The majority of council tax payers in Merseyside live in Band A property. A family living in a Band D property will be asked to pay an extra £3.05 per year.
|
Council Tax Bands |
2014/15 Cost |
2015/16 Cost |
Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Band A |
£104.42 |
£106.45 |
£2.03 |
|
Band B |
£121.82 |
£124.20 |
£2.37 |
|
Band C |
£139.23 |
£141.94 |
£2.71 |
|
Band D |
£156.63 |
£159.68 |
£3.05 |
|
Band E |
£191.44 |
£195.16 |
£3.73 |
|
Band F |
£226.24 |
£230.65 |
£4.41 |
|
Band G |
£261.05 |
£266.13 |
£5.08 |
|
Band H |
£313.26 |
£319.36 |
£6.10 |
This increase, which even the government agrees is moderate, will generate an extra £1million pounds and help to save 25 police constable jobs.
The Chief Constable and I anticipate that, if these cuts to the budget continue as declared by the Government then, by 2019, Merseyside Police will have been forced to cut 41% of the jobs of police officers, staff and PCSOs from the numbers that we had in 2010. We have already lost 1,200 but we fear that we may have to lose a further 800 over the next three years.
I will continue to strive to maximise the resources available to Merseyside Police to enable them to work to maintain their efficiency and effectiveness but there is no doubt that these cuts are forcing us to consider dramatically changing the way that the service is delivered. The strain this places on a Force that receives over 1 million calls for help from the public every year is very real.
I am deeply grateful to all of the officers and staff of the Force who remain so dedicated to their work and committed to serving the people of Merseyside.
Your opinion is important to me – please tell me what you think in a quick online survey below or please attend one of the six community events I will be holding across Merseyside.
Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner
Jane Kennedy