Council tax hike agreed for police and fire services in Staffordshire

The county's Police, Fire and Crime Panel have backed plans put forward by Commissioner Ben Adams that will see the precept increase for both services.

From April the police precept will go up by 4.83 per cent, an extra £12-a-year for a Band D property, and the fire precept will rise 4.85 per cent, an annual rise of £3.90.

It comes after Staffordshire County Council signed off on its annual budget, which will see households pay an extra £70-a-year after a 4.99 per cent increase in council tax.

Mr Adams said the increases in police and fire precepts would bring in an extra £6m for Staffordshire Police and £1.9m for fire services. He said the funding would mean "more service improvements" and insisted there had been "significant progress" with both services over the past 12 months.

He said: "Our police are now more local, more visible and more responsive. 999 and 101 are improving rapidly and the service is now aiming to have 2000 officers by April 2024, 400 more than 2019.

"Our fire and rescue service have tackled more incidents, many due to climate change, and continue to target prevention activity at the most vulnerable while doing even more to support the NHS.

"My office and partners are working to support more victims, notably those impacted by domestic abuse. Staffordshire crime and ASB levels remain low and our services remain focussed on keeping our roads, homes and businesses safe.

"We all face financial uncertainty due to the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and high inflation so setting this budget has been testing but the financial position in Staffordshire is relatively strong and allows for investment thanks to both services exceeding their savings targets."

He added that he will "always aim to keep council tax as low as possible" and said the budget meant both police and fire services would "have the resources they need to continue to keep us all safe".