Council Tax payers to get more for their money for policing in Sussex

Members of Sussex Police Authority have today considered the strategic direction of Sussex Police and voted on and set the budget for policing the county for the next financial year. The members of the Authority voted today to keep the precept rise of only 1 pence per day (a rise of 2.7%) per average Band D household, meaning that in total Band D Council Tax payers in Sussex will pay 38p per day towards policing in the county.

This historically low rise follows the Authority’s and Sussex Police’s hard work in achieving sustainable efficiency savings totalling £7.3m. The efforts to achieve the very best value for money has enabled the Authority to agree the investment in 31 additional Neighbourhood Policing officers. This reinforces the Authority’s commitment to community engagement and listening to feedback from the people of Sussex.

The Chairman of Sussex Police Authority, Dr Laurie Bush, said: “In this difficult climate I am very pleased to be in a position to tell Council Tax payers that they will not be seeing a large precept rise in their Council Tax for the policing of Sussex. Furthermore, this budget setting also allows us to invest in the extra Neighbourhood Police Officers previously promised.”

The setting of the budget today also links closely to the Local Policing Plan which the Authority will continue to scrutinise throughout the year.

Local police authorities, along with the Home Secretary and chief officers of police, make up the tripartite relationship which is responsible for the governance of policing in England and Wales.

Police authorities are currently made up of local people: a mix of local councillors, magistrates and independent members (selected from the community) represent the views of local communities.

The tripartite partners are the Home Office, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities.

The job of Police Authorities is to:

a) appoint (and, if necessary, dismiss) chief constables and senior police officers

b) consult with local communities to find out what they want the local police to do

c) set the budget for their police force, and decide how much local people should pay for policing in the local council tax

d) set the strategic direction for policing locally and decide what the police should focus attention on locally based on their consultations with local communities

e) make sure the police force is continuing to do a better job

Sussex Police Authority works to a four theme business plan: Setting Strategic Direction, Scrutinising Performance, Community Engagement and Value for Money.