Council tax Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner for Surrey

Surrey Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey are once more teaming up to invite residents to have their say in a new series of public engagement events across Surrey.

The events in January and February will be held online, but will still provide an opportunity to ask the PCC, Chief Constable an Borough Commander responsible for policing in your community, about the issues that matter most to you.

There will also be a chance to talk to Police and Crime Commissioner David Munro about proposals for the 2021-22 Council Tax Precept and to take part in his public consultation launched in January.

PCC David Munro said: “After an extremely difficult year for so many in our communities, this year’s events offer an even more valuable opportunity to be involved and have your say in policing where you live.

Have your say as ‘Policing your Community’ events return online

“Setting the policing element of the council tax is one of the most vital tasks a PCC has to make.Engaging directly with our communities over the next few weeks will also maximise the opportunities for the Surrey public to have their say in that decision.”

Residents are urged see more details on the event for their area on our Engagement Events page.

The Police and Crime Commissioner David Munro has welcomed this year’s government settlement for policing announced yesterday saying it will enable Surrey Police to maintain its recruitment of extra officers and staff.

The Home Office today revealed their funding package for 2021/22 which includes over £400 million to recruit 20,000 extra officers nationally by 2023.

The combination of last year’s council tax precept in Surrey and the officer uplift promised by government meant Surrey Police have been able to strengthen their establishment by 150 officers and staff during 2020/21.

Yesterday’s settlement gives PCC’s the flexibility to raise a maximum of £15 a year on an average Band D property through the precept for the next financial year. This equates to around 5.5% across all council tax property bands and would provide an additional £7.4m for policing in Surrey.

Once the Commissioner has finalised his precept proposal in the coming days – he will be consulting with the Surrey public in early January.

However the PCC said he remains troubled that the funding formula used to calculate the settlement remains unchanged meaning once again Surrey has received the lowest level of grant of all forces.

To read the Home Office announcement – click here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/police-to-receive-more-than-15-billion-to-fight-crime-and-recruit-more-officers

PCC David Munro said: “The settlement announcement does show the government remains committed to strengthening our police service which is good news for our communities in Surrey.

PCC welcomes commitment to strengthening policing service following government settlement for 2021/22

“We obviously need to take stock and work through the finer details of today’s announcement and I will be working with the Chief Constable in the coming days to finalise my precept proposal for the next financial year.

“I will then be consulting with the public in January and I’m really keen to hear the views of residents on both my proposal and the police service in this county.

“Whilst the settlement does represent good news, I remain disappointed that Surrey residents will in effect continue to pay a larger proportion of the cost of their policing than anyone else in the country.

“I believe the police funding formula is fundamentally flawed and I wrote to the Home Secretary earlier this year urging the need for a root-and-branch review to make it a fairer system. I will continue to press that point over coming months to fight for fairer funding for policing in this county.”