This week, Ministers announced the amount of Government funding that would be available next year for policing which has implications for the amount of further savings that the Police & Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, John Dwyer will need to make when setting his first budget in March next year.
The total grant allocated to Cheshire has decreased by £1.9 million (1.6%) compared to last year. The figures confirmed expectations that a further £34m savings are needed over the next four years, of which £6m must be made in 2013/14. This figure is worked out having taken the current inflation rate of 2.7% into account.
This is on top of £27m savings made since 2010.
On hearing the implications of the announcement, John Dwyer, said "As I said in my election campaign, I intend to protect and where possible enhance front line policing by improving efficiency and driving down costs, although the scale of cuts needed makes this extremely challenging. During January, I will be consulting the public and other agencies about my priorities and savings proposals for 2013/14.
"I will also be asking for people's views about the amount of council tax they are prepared to pay for policing in Cheshire. At the moment, people living in a Band D property in Cheshire pay £150.22 for policing. If the council tax is frozen at this level, the Government have offered a grant for two years equivalent to a 1% increase of the council tax.
"Alternatively, the council tax could be increased by 2% which is £3 per year, or less than 6p per week, for an average household in 2013/14 (the maximum permitted by Government). This would permanently deliver £1.2 million per year towards the savings required and allow us to better protect frontline services."
John Dwyer added. "I need to understand what people think about these options and whether they think savings are more important than policing during a time when I know that everyone has financial challenges."
