Council Tax 2010/11

It is the responsibility of Hampshire Police Authority to set the council tax for policing in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The Chief Constable prepares the budget for the coming year and advises Hampshire Police Authority how much he needs to efficiently and effectively police the two counties.

The Police Authority receives the money for this budget from government grants, business rates and the police precept in the council tax. Depending on how much money it receives from government, the Police Authority has to raise a certain amount of money from the precept, which is the only part of its income the Authority can adjust.

The police precept comprises approximately one tenth of the total council tax bill. In 2010/11 the policing element for a council tax band D is £146.25, compared with £142.11 in 2009/10, which equates to an increase of £4.14 (2.91%) per annum or 35 pence per month.

How the money will be used

The majority of the money (84 per cent) will be spent on employees, in particular the delivery of excellent frontline policing. The additional cost in 2010/11 of providing current service levels is £11.5m.

Most of this increase in cost is pay and price inflation (£7.7m), but there is also an additional £1.6m for capital financing. Additional growth and other budget pressures of £3.7m have been included to meet new mandatory 11 requirements and increase the amount of time officers can spend on the streets. This includes £0.6m to replace body armour before it reaches its expiry date and £0.8m to increase the use of mobile data that will allow officers to undertake more work outside of police stations.

Savings of £6.2m have been identified to reduce the impact on Council Tax payers and balance the budget. The Authority and Constabulary will use efficiency savings made in 2009/10 to support the 2010/11 budget with a contribution from reserves of £2.3m. Another £1.5m will be saved in 2010/11 by delivering further efficiency savings in police staff working practices. A Savings Team is in place to identify opportunities for further efficiency savings in 2010/11 and beyond.

The efficiency savings will help to improve frontline policing despite the challenging financial outlook. The remaining balance is met through the increase in Government Grant and council tax receivable of £9.0m.

Please visit the 'frequently asked questions' page to find out more about the amount for policing in the council tax.

The information booklet issued with council tax bills can be viewed on the precept notices page of this site.

The report that presented the budget and amount for policing in the council tax to the Police Authority on 16 February 2010 can be downloaded by clicking here.