Commissioner’s proposals for police and fire and rescue funding agreed

Commissioner Zoë presented her precept proposals to today’s Police, Fire and Crime Panel (7 February) who approved the plans unanimously. It means that, from April 2022:

• The policing precept will rise by 3.69 per cent over the 2021/22 level – an average increase of £10 per year for a Band D property.
• The fire and rescue precept will rise by 1.98 per cent over the 2021/22 level – an average increase of £1.47 per year for a Band D property.

For the police precept, among the specific ways the money will be invested by the Chief Constable:

• 34 additional officers allocated to the customer contact centre to improve the service to the public
• 13 additional officers to support neighbourhood policing teams across North Yorkshire and York
• 9 additional officer and staff posts to raise standards and improve the quality of engagement with victims of violence against women and girls.
• 10 additional officers to strengthen and grow the roads policing team and support the strategy to reduce deaths and injuries on the area’s roads.

The level of the precept has been set following extensive consultation across North Yorkshire and York, including hearing directly from members of the public.

In the survey, nearly two-thirds of residents supported an increase in the police precept of over 1.99 per cent with four in ten accepting an increase of £10 or more. For the fire and rescue precept, seven in ten supported an increase of up to £1.47.

Commissioner Zoë said:

“I know these are difficult times for families and individuals across North Yorkshire and York so I have tried to balance the pressures on household finances with the need to continue to ensure we give North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue the resources to keep us safe and feeling safe.

“The increase in the precept will allow us to deliver on having more police officers on our streets and support efforts to tackle violence against women and girls, but with other financial pressures increasing it means there will be a continued need to collaborate and develop further efficiencies while protecting communities.

“I continue to call for fairer funding for North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service – Ministers need to do more to recognise the challenges faced for communities as diverse and sparse as North Yorkshire and York. I want to be clear, we face significant financial pressures but I will ensure we engage extensively to ensure we make the right decisions, even though they may be difficult.”