Community police numbers to be slashed in latest cuts

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Police to raise council tax in Coventry after cuts

COVENTRY council tax bills are set to rise due to a police decision today to raise more cash to compensate for government cuts.

West Midlands Police and Crime Panel has unanimously voted to go ahead with force’s budget proposal, previously reported by the Observer, to raise its part of Council Tax by an average £5 a year.

It will from April put 10p a week on the police’s proportion of council tax bills – called a ‘precept’ – for an average band D property, currently £106.55.

West Midlands residents will still be paying over £65 less than neighbouring forces and less than residents in almost every other force area, says police commissioner David Jamieson.

He said: “The government have made it clear that to maintain cash budgets at current levels precepts must be increased by the maximum amount.

“In short, the government is funding the police at a lower level and has made it clear that it expects local people to pay more.

“The cross party panel recognised the government’s cuts and their change of emphasis.

“The panel also noted that West Midlands Police continues to offer excellent value for money compared to neighbouring forces.”

Mr Jamieson has previously said that if the police precept was frozen at its current level, West Midlands Police would lose out on approximately £3.3million a year, which would have resulted in a “significant impact on policing”.

It comes after chancellor George Osborne’s spending review in November gave the West Midlands force freedom to raise the Council Tax precept above 2 per cent, which will still apply to many other forces.

A public consultation was staged on the proposal prior to today’s decision.

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Budget cuts to blame for rise in violent crimes, says Coventry MP



A Coventry MP says an increase in violent crimes is due to the severe cuts to police budgets.

Latest figures show there were 1.3 million incidents of violent crime recorded across the whole of England and Wales in the year ending March 2015.

And Geoffrey Robinson, MP for Coventry North West, says the swathing cuts to budgets are to blame for the figures, which were published by the Office for National Statistics.

He stated that £126million has been cut from the West Midlands Police budget over the past five years - 23 per cent of the overall budget - and he says this could rise to 55 per cent by 2020.

Mr Robinson said: “While the figures are very concerning, I don’t find them that surprising given the cuts to police budgets.

“Here in Coventry where we’ve seen cuts far greater than those in the south of England, it is inevitable that there will be a rise in some types of crime as the police are asked to do more with less.

“So much for the Tories being tough on crime - what we are seeing here is just another example of this government’s disregard for the people of Coventry.

“It’s important that the police maximise their resources in the current climate and I’m pleased that they are doing this in Coventry, but I don’t really know how much more our police units can cope given the sustained attacks on the budget of West Midlands Police.”