2009/10 Hampshire Police Authority Council Tax Precept (4.8%)
Frequently Asked Questions
February 2009
What is the budget for Hampshire Police Authority for 2009/10?
As approved by the Police Authority on February 17, the total budget figure in 2009/10 is £304.7 million, compared to £294.2 million in 2008/9.
What does this mean for the Council Tax level?
The police element of the council tax will rise by 4.8%. 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 £6.57 per annum or 55p per month.
Why is the Police Authority Council Tax rise higher than any 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 is in the bottom quartile, and the proposed rise is expected to see the Authority remain in that position.
The Police Authority needs an extra £10.5 million this year – what for?
There are three main ways in which the extra money has to be spent:
1) Pay awards. In the previous financial year, the pay awards for both police officers and police staff were fixed for the next three years. 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 increases are 2.65% as at 1 September 2008, 2.60% from 1 September 2009 and 2.55% from 1 September 2010. For police staff, the increases are 2.6% as at 1 September 2008, 2.6% from 1 September 2009 and 2.58% from 1 September 2010.
2) Price increases. During 2008/09 significant inflationary pressure was experienced. Inflationary pressure is not expected to be such a factor during 2009/10, but the increases in 2008/09 have to be built into the 2009/10 budget.
3) Compulsory growth. The IMPACT programme is a technology-based project that will improve the ability of Hampshire Constabulary to manage and share information with other polices forces. The programme was set up as a result of the Bichard Inquiry into the Soham murders. This is a national project and the Police Authority is unable to influence the associated costs of it.
4) Cost of new headquarters and Southampton Police Station. These are two major capital programmes that the Authority will be undertaking in the next three years, and the Authority is borrowing money to pay for these projects.
If the Police Authority is getting more money, why are 200 posts being cut?
There is a £9.0m gap between the money the Authority receives through the Government grant and collection of council tax based at a 4.8% rise, and the money needed by the Authority to run an efficient and effective police force for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Therefore, a number of savings are being proposed. One of these savings is the reduction in police officer and police staff posts.
It should be stressed that a reduction in posts does not necessarily mean any redundancies. The reduction in police officer posts is due to be achieved through natural wastage and by not filling vacancies that already exist. The reduction in police staff posts will be staged during the year and the Force will aim to achieve this reduction by the same means.
To ensure that frontline services are protected, the Constabulary is currently undertaking reviews of its headquarters departments, which are expected to result in HQ-based police officers being redeployed to frontline duties, and a streamlining of HQ functions.
Won’t this affect the way the community is policed?
Reviews carried out by Hampshire Constabulary as part of the Efficiency Strategy have looked at police officers working in roles for which a warrant card is not required. Many of these are carried out at headquarters. These roles could be performed at a lower cost by police staff specifically recruited for that role. This allows those police officers to be redeployed to frontline policing. New streamlined procedures aimed at reducing bureaucracy, making the best use of resources and implementing technological advances reduce the time taken to complete certain tasks, which means that the same, or more, output can be achieved with less officers and staff.
It is important to note that many frontline roles are carried out by police staff at the present time, such as Police Community Support Officers, Crime Scene Investigators, Detention Officers and Financial Investigators.
Are there any other savings that can be made?
Savings have been, and will continue to be, made by the Authority in order that it can provide effective policing with the budget given. In the past seven years, the Authority has made £60m of efficiency savings. However, because of this success, making efficiency savings that do not impact on the performance of the police is becoming more difficult. The level of government grant has been reduced on the basis that £30m of efficiency savings will be made over the next three years.