Unanimous backing for PCC’s 5.9% rise in Council Tax

Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones has won unanimous backing for his tax plans for the coming year.
Tax rise agreed. Lincolnshire PCC Marc Jones with Chief Constable Chris Haward. EMN-210502-142810001Tax rise agreed. Lincolnshire PCC Marc Jones with Chief Constable Chris Haward. EMN-210502-142810001
Tax rise agreed. Lincolnshire PCC Marc Jones with Chief Constable Chris Haward. EMN-210502-142810001

The Police and Crime Panel today (Friday) all agreed to the PCC’s proposal to raise Council Tax by between 20p and 26p a week for most households (£14.94 extra for the year for a band D property) - which will deliver an additional

£2.9m in funding.

It equates to a 5.9 per cent rise in the policing element of Council Tax to pay for front line policing services.

The PCC and the new Chief Constable Chris Haward will now put their plans into action to improve safety within Lincolnshire communities.

“I am delighted the panel has unanimously backed the plans for the coming year. The public made it clear they wanted an opportunity to invest in the policing of their communities and I welcome the panel’s decision to respect that view,” said Mr Jones.

“Residents said no to a freeze in Council Tax and a reduction in policing and officer numbers and yes to a pound or so a month increase as long as it’s directed to frontline policing. I have listened and I have worked with the Chief Constable to develop plans that will keep our communities even safer into the future.

“The Chief and I have already developed some exciting projects we can now fund through the additional money raised – all of which match the concerns highlighted by the public through our robust consultation process.”

This include the recruitment of an extra 60 officers (one top of those being funded by the government drive to recruit 20,000 more officers for England), a new team dedicated to policing the county’s roads, an increase in armed response units and specialist teams to drive down community crime.

The agreed rise in Council Tax comes weeks after the results in the PCC’s annual survey showed overwhelming support for an even larger increase than the one proposed.

The survey, completed by 3,243 people, asked respondents how much more they were prepared to pay in Council Tax – with 87 per cent agreeing to pay more.

In fact 77 per cent of people said they were prepared to pay 10 per cent or more and in every council district more than a third said they were willing to pay a 20 per cent increase.