West Mercia PCC launches consultation on proposed council tax rise to address gaps in their budget

West Mercia PCC John Campion has launched a consultation to seek views from the public on the council tax precept for policing and victim services.

The PCC is proposing to increase council tax towards the services by 5% (average £14 per year) following the flexibility that was granted to PCCs by the government.

He's warned though that even with this flexibility, service reductions and changes will need to be made within West Mercia Police to ensure it can continue fighting crime and responding to emergencies across the three counties.

Following the government’s settlement announcement on 17 December, the PCC said a rise in council tax was "unavoidable."

PCC John Campion said: “The long and short of it is, the extra government funding will cover some of our increased costs, but not all of them.

We are continually looking at efficiencies, and all viable options to save money have been taken in this year’s budget, I therefore have no choice but to look at increasing council tax to address the budget gap we have.

“Other police forces have warned that police officer numbers will have to be cut, I have made it clear that I do not, and will not, let that happen, and I recognise how important this is for our communities and the confidence they have in their police service."

The consultation runs until 16 January.

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