West Midlands residents will see higher taxes for policing despite a budget increase, as government grants fail to cover officer losses and rising costs.
Council tax for Band D homes will rise, with residents expected to pay £229.50, an increase of £13.95 per year, or 27p each week. The government grant is £671.5 million, a £42.3 million increase from last year.
However, the grant won’t replace lost officers from 2010. It must also cover pay increases. The government wants the police to raise taxes to cover daily costs.
The grant helps maintain officer numbers into 2025/26 and supports the police officer pay raise. National insurance contributions also get addressed with this funding.
The force lost 2,221 officers between 2010 and 2019. They may get more funding for local policing, but even so, they will have fewer officers. Around 800 officers and 500 PSCOs are still needed.
The police must fund staff pay raises from this money. An extra £13.95 will come from Band D taxpayers, adding 27p weekly or £1.16 each month, generating £10.62 million more income. The total income from the tax will be £174.8 million.
Despite this, they still need to save £24.5 million and will use £16.9 million from reserves. The government expects all forces to raise taxes and is pushing for the maximum increase.
This government push for higher taxes means the funding does not fully cover daily costs and doesn’t fund an effective police service.
Ultimately, the government asks the people of the West Midlands to pay more, yet they get less policing for their money. Instead of fully funding the increase, local taxpayers bear the burden.
Rising inflation continues to put the police budget under pressure.
