How much will West Yorkshire residents will pay towards policing in 2018/19?

The amount paid by West Yorkshire residents to help fund local policing is set to rise from April after the county's police and crime commissioner won support for his budget proposals.

There will be a £12 increase in the police element of council tax bills, known as the police precept, which equates to an extra £1 a month for residents in Band D homes.

But most people will pay less than 80 pence per month extra in 2018/19 because three-quarters of properties in West Yorkshire fall into bands A, B and C.

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Police and crime commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson said 75 per cent of people surveyed before the budget was set had said they would be willing to pay more.

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson.West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson.
West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson.

And at its latest meeting, West Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel signed off on a budget based on the suggested 7.95 per cent precept increase.

It means the precept will generate an extra £7.7m towards policing costs during the year ahead.

Mr Burns-Williamson said: “The new budget will protect PCSO numbers and fund the further recruitment of more than 140 police officers and staff, some of whom will be allocated to tackle key priority areas such as cyber crime, safeguarding and investigations.

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“I certainly didn’t want to put any extra burden on local tax payers but the fact is these new resources just simply wouldn’t be available if it wasn’t for the help of our communities in helping me raise the additional funds.”

A report on the budget proposals said there had been a net increase of 206 officers in 2017/18, with PCSO number standing at 601 after additional recruitment.

But demand has continued to increase with more than 21,000 missing people reports in 2017, child sexual exploitation offences up by 150 per cent since 2013 and domestic abuse incidents rising by 35 per cent over the same period.

How much will the police precept be for each council tax band in 2018/19?

A - £108.63 (£8 more)

B - £126.74 (£9.33 more)

C - £144.84 (£10.67 more)

D - £162.95 (£12 more)

E - £199.16 (£14.67 more)

F - £235.37 (£17.33 more)

G - £271.58 (£20 more)

H - £325.90 (£24 more)