2010/11 Hampshire Police Authority Council Tax Precept (2.91%)
Frequently Asked Questions
February 2010
What is the budget for Hampshire Police Authority in 2010/11?
The total budget figure in 2010/11 is £313.7 million, compared to £304.7 million in 2009/10, an increase of just under 3%.
What does this mean for the Council Tax level?
The police element of the Council Tax will rise by 2.9%. This will be combined with the local council(s) and fire and rescue authority amount to determine the actual Council Tax bill for a household. On a Band D dwelling this is a rise of £4.14 per annum or 8p per week.
Why is the Police Authority Council Tax rise higher than some of the local councils and fire and rescue authority?
Police authority council tax rises are traditionally the highest of all the local authorities. This is because Council Tax is a relatively small proportion of police finances, and therefore extra spending above a fixed grant increase falls on a smaller base, thus causing a higher percentage Council Tax increase.
Councils, fire and rescue and police authorities are funded in different ways and have different cost and service pressures.
Compared to other shire Police Authorities around the country, Hampshire Police Authority’s council tax rate remains in the bottom quartile.
The Police Authority needs an extra £9 million this year – what for?
There are three main ways in which the extra money has to be spent:
1) Pay awards. The pay awards for both police officers and police staff were fixed for three years by the Government. 2010/11 is the third and final year of the three year deal. Although this provides some financial certainty for the medium term, in the short term, there are budget adjustments that need to be made.
For police officers, the increase is 2.55% from 1 September 2010 and for police staff the increase is 2.58% from 1 September 2010. The police staff increase is higher in 2010, but was lower in each of the two preceding years within the three year deal.
2) Price increases. During 2008/09 there were significant inflationary pressures which have eased in 2009/10, but inflation has begun to rise again in 2010. The Retail Price Index (RPI) for January 2010 is a 3.7% increase on the same time last year. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is 3.5%.
After accounting for ‘current policies’ i.e. the cost of providing the same services as in 2009/10, there is a budget shortfall of £2.5m.
3) Mandatory and necessary growth. For example, the Authority has to replace body armour that is reaching its expiry date (£0.6m), replace the ageing staff IT system (£0.7m) which is no longer fit for purpose, implement new IT controls to continue to be able to access the national police network (£0.3m) and provide IT support to key operational systems such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition (£0.3m). In addition, £0.8m has been earmarked for mobile data investment to allow officers to spend more time working in the community and £0.6m earmarked to support capital expenditure.
The total growth and budget pressures provided for within the budget is £3.7m.
Will the frontline be cut?
The Authority and Constabulary has identified efficiency savings of £6.2m to set a balanced budget. These efficiency savings are targeted in areas that will not impact upon frontline policing. The budget agreed does not include any reduction to police officer numbers.
The Authority and Constabulary has implemented efficiency measures throughout 2009/10 which has resulted in a projected underspend that will allow a contribution of £2.3m to be made towards the 2010/11 budget.
A further £1.5m will be saved by delivering further efficiency savings in police staff working practices. Changes to IT expenditure will save £0.8m, reductions to travel and transport costs will save £0.6m and reductions in conference expenses, publications and stationery will save £0.3m. The total saving is £6.2m.
How will this budget affect future years beyond 2010/11?
Although the 2009/10 underspend is a one-off, much of the additional expenditure outlined above is also one-off expenditure so the total package of savings exceeds the total value of additional budget pressures and growth in every year from 2011/12 onwards which helps with the expected budget pressures in future years.
In the past ten years, the Authority and Constabulary have made £69m of efficiency savings. However, because of this success, making efficiency savings that do not impact on the performance is becoming more difficult. The Authority and Constabulary are very aware that public spending cuts are likely for 2011/12 onwards. A Savings Team has been formed to look at opportunities for transformational change, including where beneficial working jointly with other partners, that aims to make significant efficiency savings for 2011/12 onwards.