North Wales Police precept to rise next year

Alec Doyle, local democracy reporter

The cost of policing in North Wales will rise by £22.50 per household this year as inflationary costs hit the service.

Revealing the 2025/26 police precept – the cost of policing that is included in each household’s council tax bill – Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales (PCC) Andy Dunbobbin said he understood that for many people any increase was difficult.

But he added that robust conversations had been had with the Chief Constable to keep the increase as low as possible.

“I understand, we are all affected by rising prices and with council taxes likely to go up already this is an additional pressure for people,” he said. “But there are costs outside of our control. National agreements, fuel, these all put pressure on police resources and we have little or no influence over them.

“We have to make sure we can balance the books and deliver the police service that people in North Wales expect to make living here as safe as possible.”

Consultation

A consultation on the funding level for next year which presented three options for the increase – £19 per year, £23 per year or £26.50 per year – attracted 1,500 responses. After the public chose the highest option, Mr Dunbobbin made the decision to set it in the middle.

The PCC will propose the increased fee of £372.15 – for band D properties – to the region’s Police and Crime Panel at a meeting on 27 January 2025. The total will change depending on which council tax band your home is in.

If the Panel agrees to the increase, it will become effective from April 2025.

“We need to increase funding by 6.44% just to keep things as they are,” said Mr Dunbobbin. “The precept will be coming in lower than what people said they are willing to pay which I think it a bit of a win but I appreciate there will be some people who will really struggle with any increase and I totally get that.”

The PCC also revealed that 53% of the police annual budget comes directly from taxation through the precept, with the remainder coming via central government.

“It’s really important that we give the police the financial means to fulfil their operational duties in order to provide the safety and security we all want for our communities,” he said.

Efficiency savings

Since 2010 North Wales Police has found just over £45 million of efficiency savings. Next year it has already identified a further £1.500,000 of savings.

But the PCC assured them that there were no plans to reduce visibility as the force’s focus remained on reinforcing public confidence and tackling key issues such as anti-social behaviour.

“There’s a lot of engagement going on with the community and that will continue,” he said. “North Wales Police performance overall is good and funding it properly helps keep it that way.

“Crime was down 30% in the year to March 2023 and this year it is down another 8% so it is going in a positive direction.

“That visible presence is important too. We helped fund 160 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) last year through the precept and we’ll be keeping them.”

North Wales Police Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman said: “I remain acutely aware that these are challenging financial times for many, but I would like to reassure our communities that if this precept is accepted by the Police and Crime Panel we will continue to make solid investments to ensure that North Wales is a safe place to live, work and visit.

“Similar to forces across the country we have faced challenges, but we have also worked hard to identify savings and to invest in our people and technology to support our priorities and to ensure that operational policing is working efficiently and effectively.”