Police element of council tax could rise by up to £15 for 2021/22

A consultation has been launched on the 2021/22 police element of council tax, the Mayoral Police and Crime Commissioner Precept, which suggests a maximum increase of £15.

The policing precept is the amount you contribute to local policing (and fire services) through your council tax bill. It is not set by the local authority, unlike council tax.

The government has given Police and Crime Commissioners the ability to raise the precept by up to £1.25 a month (£15 a year for an average Band D property and £11.66 a year for an average Band B property) which is what is being proposed in the consultation.

Most of the money for funding police (approx. 80%) comes from a central Government grant. But the Government has cut the funding for Greater Manchester Police by £250m since 2010, which has seen the loss of 2,000 police officers and 1,000 non-police staff.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham says about 25% of the funding for GMP comes from the police precept, one of the lowest proportions in the country. 

Mr Burnham said: “It is always hard to ask the public to pay more, especially at this difficult time.

“But we do need to continue to repair the damage done to policing in Greater Manchester by Government cuts to our central grant in eight out of the last 10 years.

“Between 2011-2019, the Government grant to Greater Manchester was cut by £215 million, which, in addition to 2,000 fewer police officers, resulted in 1,000 fewer support staff and cuts to other essential resources.

“During the same time, policing was becoming more complex and challenging – particularly in big city forces – with growing demand from cybercrime, terrorism, child sexual exploitation, human trafficking and, more recently, Covid-related enforcement.

“Although the 2021/22 Government Grant has increased by 5% to support the recruitment of additional officers, and we are grateful for that, it doesn’t make up for the years of shortfall.

“My first priority has always been to keep the people of Greater Manchester safe and that’s why we again will need to ask people to pay a little more for policing. So I am today proposing a headline increase in the police precept in Greater Manchester for financial year 2021/22 of £15 – or up to £1.25 a month.

“For the majority of our council taxpayers, in Band B properties, it will mean an £11.66 a year increase. Only residents with Band D properties will pay the full £15 a year.”

Since 2018, the precept has helped fund an additional 667 police officers, 40 extra call handlers, investment in automated telephone systems for the non-emergency 101 service, clothing, footwear, training and equipment, including mobile applications for frontline officers allowing them to spend more time dealing with the public and resolving incidents, and new digital interview recording equipment.

The consultation closes on 28 January:

• www.gmconsult.org/police-and-crime-team/police-funding-2021/