Police portion of council tax set to rise by 4.5%

Gloucestershire Police will charge more council tax from April, as the force struggles to balance its books.

The force will have 52% of its £168m budget for 2025 funded by government grants, but the remaining £80m will come from local tax.

The county's police and crime panel voted on Tuesday in favour of the Police and Crime Commissioner's (PCC) proposal to increase the police precept - the portion of council tax allocated to police services - by 4.5%.

For a band D property, this will see £14 added to the annual bill for policing, taking it from £308 to £322.

PCC Chris Nelson said the hike was a "hard choice", but would help the force make the necessary savings of £12.3m in the next financial year.

The force announced staff cuts on 21 January, but stated police office numbers - currently 1,345 - would not be cut to minimise the impact on the public.

The government's grant funding means the Home Office will contribute £88m of the force's budget - an increase of £4.5m on last year's grant.

However, "inflation and pay costs mean that is still not enough to maintain the current level of staffing with the remaining £80m to be raised through council tax", a PCC spokesperson said.

"The settlement was a little better than I hoped, but is still far short of what we need to police the county," Mr Nelson continued.

He said the aim to recruit more police nationally was "welcome", but that government funding was not sufficient enough to meet further pay increases, or equip additional officers.

"This is a settlement far short of what the constabulary needs and I am left with no choice but to ask for the maximum increase in council tax," he added.

Gloucestershire Police will need to find savings of about £12.3m in the next financial year to balance it's budget, which it is required to do by law.

A number of reductions in staff have already taken place, with a mutually agreed resignation scheme (Mars) offered to staff in October.

However, Mr Nelson says these savings still might not be enough.

"I have managed to stave off the most difficult choices for as long as possible," he said.

"But I'm afraid the fact the government has still not changed the outdated formula it uses to allocate funds, means with enormous regret, that a possible reduction of some police staff posts may be unavoidable.

"We are no different from any other police force in the country which has had to make similar savings. Hard choices are inevitable."

Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.