Hartlepool's police force puts up bills to fund new officers

The increase for 2021/22, which is one of the lowest in the country, will still allow the force to fund an extra 24 police officers with the aim of having 1,450 officers either on duty or in training by March next year.

It comes after councillors voted to freeze council tax in Hartlepool, though the police precept increase will mean households will see a rise in their bills.

Lisa Oldroyd, the acting Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland, said this would mean not just hitting national targets for officer numbers a year earlier than expected, but exceeding them by 65 officers.

She also said, if achieved, the number of police officers in Cleveland would have increased by more than 250, or 20%, over a three year period, leaving numbers at their highest level since 2013.

Mrs Oldroyd, who replaced previous incumbent Barry Coppinger after he quit last September, said the precept rise was the lowest possible increase available to her, but would ensure the force was equipped with the resources to improve further.

Members of the independent Cleveland Police and Crime Panel, which scrutinises the work of the police and crime commissioner and backed the precept rise, said they understood the strain on many household finances that had been caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

But to freeze the precept would mean no extra officers – which were “very much needed” – while the small increase would also help meet inflation and other cost pressures.

They praised recent progress made by the force under the leadership of Chief Constable Richard Lewis who was appointed just prior to a damning inspection report released in September 2019 which said it was inadequate in all areas and “operating without a clear plan or direction”.

Great momentum

Councillor Graham Cutler, who chaired a ‘task and finish’ group of panel members examining the precept proposal, said: “We urge the force to ensure that as far as possible that any additional funding made available through the precept rise benefits all four of our boroughs so that the public can see a return on their investment”.

Cllr Cutler said the 1.99% precept rise equated to 10p per a week rise for band D properties (or £5.19 a year), standing at £265.73, with a majority of the group endorsing the increase to the panel.

Cllr Cutler said: “No-one wants to add a burden of big rises especially given the year we have experienced.

“I believe the force is heading in a fantastic and correct direction and to cut the funding at this time would be possibly the wrong thing to do.

“The last thing the public want is a decrease in services – the force is gaining great momentum in its progress with significant improvements happening throughout the boroughs.”

Councillor Lee Cartwright said he had done his own survey of residents in Hartlepool and there was strong support for “more boots on the ground”.

He said: “The chief constable is doing a fantastic job and we need them [extra 24] police officers to help reduce crime.”

Independent panel member Paul McGrath said: “I fully support the 1.99%, which is in the low band of suggested awards.

“Northumbria have agreed a 4.99 per cent award and we have tried to be conscious of the fact that many families in Cleveland are struggling financially because of the covid-19 pandemic.

“This is the lowest increase possible which can still achieve the chief’s aims of getting some of the officers back that have been lost over the years.”

Councillor Lynn Hall said: “This recommendation is the best we can go with in the current situation.

“There are a lot of members of the public out there who are going to find it extremely hard to pay their council tax this year.”

Fellow Stockton councillor Steve Nelson quipped: “It’s good to see we are heading for 250 more officers which will take us to about half of the total we’ve lost over the last ten years.”

Financial needs

Mrs Oldroyd, who is due to remain in post until an election for a new police and crime commissioner takes place in May, said she too recognised the financial worries many households were facing.

She said: “I haven’t proposed the maximum £15 a year increase that was available to police and crime commissioners.

“This takes into account the financial needs of the organisation currently projected for 2021/22 and in the future and provides resources to the chief constable to meet the current assessment of demands on the force and to continue on its current road to improvement.

“The funds raised by the precept will assist the force to meet their plans to have over 1,450 police officers by March 2022.

“This means Cleveland will not just hit Government targets a year earlier than expected, but actually exceed them.

“It also means the number of police officers will have increased by more than 250 in the last three years, an increase of 20%.”

As 80% of properties in Cleveland fall under council tax bands A-C, the majority of residents will pay less than the 10p weekly increase.

Mrs Oldroyd added: “I’m grateful to the Police and Crime Panel for their support.

“It felt most appropriate in the current economic circumstances that the increase is limited to £5 for a band D property, as households across Cleveland feel the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis.

“With a 1.99% increase, we will be able to support Cleveland Police to surpass Government recruitment targets and continue on their journey of improvement under the leadership of Chief Constable Richard Lewis.”

Mrs Oldroyd said a police and crime plan she had inherited from Mr Coppinger was founded on the basis of a 1.99% precept increase for 2021/22..

She conceded that an online survey conducted by her office over the precept plan had only received a “limited response”.

Only 181 replies were received to the survey with more than 50% supporting an increase in the precept of 1.99% or more.

Members on the independent panel pointed out the paucity of replies with some suggesting they had done their own more extensive research among residents.

Mrs Oldroyd said face to face engagement with the public had been impossible because of the pandemic.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner was said to be open to new ways of collecting future information to ensure more robust representation from residents in Cleveland.

Budget pressures

The balance of the cost of the police service not paid for by central Government is met by local taxpayers through a precept on their council tax.

In 2020/21, just over 70% of Cleveland Police’s budget (£99.3m) came from central Government, while just under 30% (£40.8m) came from the police precept, which is the portion of council tax used to fund local police services.

The force is due to receive a 5.3% increase in its core funding grant from the Government in 2021/22, rising from £50.1m to £53.5m.

But the task and finish group report warned that it could still face budget pressures of £1.9m in the coming financial year as a result of a significant deficit in council tax collections that was expected because of the coronavirus pandemic and the potential of a lack of growth in the underlying tax base.

It also said the force had no significant cash reserves to fall back on.

Combining proposed overall Government funding for 2021/22 with a 1.99% rise in the precept would bring the total increase in funding for the force to £6.78m.

The report said Government funding in cash terms had only just – since 2020/21 – reached the levels of ten years ago.

It said anything less than a 1.99% increase would make a “very difficult position even worse” and lead to a £800,000 shortfall in funding for the Cleveland force.

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