2008/09 Hampshire Police Authority Council Tax Precept(8.11%)

Frequently Asked Questions

February 2008

How much has the council tax precept gone up by?

The Council Tax precept for a Band D property has gone up by £10.17 per annum or 8.11%, from £125.37 to £135.54.  Council tax band rates for Hampshire Police Authority are:

Why has Council Tax gone up?

In 2007/08 net expenditure is estimated to be £281.9m. The net expenditure on police services is estimated to be £294.2m in 2008/09, an increase of £12.3m or 4.3%. The £12.3m difference is due to:

What were the increases in other changes to current policies included in the budget?

The £4.0m increase to provide current services includes:

• Pay increments: £3.8m

• Changes to interest paid on loans taken out to finance new buildings: £0.5m

• Additional service income: -£0.5m

• Other changes: £0.2m

What were the increases in additional expenditure (no choice/high priority) included in the budget?

The £3.2m is to meet statutory, regulatory or operationally critical requirements.  Net expenditure increases such as:

• Additional officers for frontline policing to increase the number of officers per capita towards the average level of most similar forces: £1.0m

• Additional officers and staff for custody to meet national standards and reduce the time spent in custody by frontline officers in processing detained persons: £1.0m

• New unit to meet national standards on handling sensitive information and response to serious crime: £0.4m

• Specialist training: £0.2m

• Police National Database connectivity: £0.2m

• Other changes: £0.4m

Can you find savings to reduce the impact on council tax?

Yes. £3.2m worth of savings have been identified to reduce the impact on council tax. These have been targeted in areas that will have least impact upon the delivery of frontline services.  The savings will be achieved by:

• Reduction of police support staff: £0.8m

• Reduce provision required for inflation: £0.7m

• Cancel planned recruitment of additional Sergeant posts for Safer Neighbourhoods: £0.5m

• Reduce operational equipment purchase: £0.3m

• Achieve additional interest receipts: £0.3m

• Reduce police overtime through more effective deployment: £0.2m

• Reduce the reserve for policing major incidents: £0.2m

• Other changes: £0.2m

Can you use reserves to reduce the impact on council tax?

Yes. A net amount of £0.2m will be taken from reserves to reduce the impact on council tax payers. To use reserves to finance on going expenditure would not be a sustainable position. The levels of reserves are relatively low compared with other police authorities and are necessary given the uncertain nature of demands on the police e.g. major crimes or disasters.

Don’t central government fund the increased expenditure?

The general government grants receivable have increased by £4.9m or 2.5% from £197.3m to £202.2m. This amount is not sufficient to cover increases due to inflation (pay awards and price increases of £7.6m or 2.7%) and does not allow for service improvements required e.g. due to new legislation or regulatory requirements.  

Isn’t the Police Authority expected to make efficiency savings?

The Authority has always exceeded the efficiency savings targets issued by Government. The Government target is 3% of net expenditure of which 1.5% must be cashable savings. The Government has taken these efficiency savings into account when deciding grant levels and reduces grant accordingly. Therefore these expected efficiency savings must be used to balance the budget and are not available for reinvestment in frontline services. The Authority has found £60m of efficiency savings in the last 7 years. The Authority has a 3 year Efficiency Strategy beginning in 2008/09 which will aim to achieve a further £30m of efficiency savings over the 3 year period.

If expenditure is going up by 4.3% why is council tax going up by 8.11%?

After accounting for savings and use of reserves, the additional amount of budget required is £12.3m.  The total value of the 2007/08 council tax precept was £84.0m. The increase for 2008/09 takes this to £91.6m, divided by a council tax base of 676,164 gives a Band D Council Tax of £135.54. This is a 8.11% increase.  This is summarised in the table below:

What is this reference to collection fund balances?

Collecting authorities (unitary and district councils) maintain a collection fund for the receipt of Council Tax. Any balance is shared between the relevant parties. The Police Authority will receive £297k from collection funds for 2008/09 which is £295k less than in 2007/08.

Will higher than inflation Council Tax precept increases occur indefinitely?

Largely it depends on the increase in costs versus the increase in grant received.

Has the Police Authority undertaken any public consultation?

Yes. A public consultation exercise was organised in 2007 and again in 2008 through independent consultants. The conclusion of these workshops is that the Council Tax precept is worth paying for the service delivered and that the 8.11% increase, if used to increase frontline policing, is supported by the attendants. Regular meetings are also held with local residents associations and other representative bodies.

How does it compare with other Police Authorities?

A survey of 31 shire police authorities in England and Wales found that Hampshire has the 5^th lowest council tax precept.