Council Tax explained - Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside
Setting a balanced budget is one of my most important responsibilities. It is my job to ensure Merseyside Police has the money it needs to keep our communities safe and is in the strongest possible position for the year ahead.
The financial position of Merseyside Police remains extremely challenging and has again required careful financial planning and some difficult decisions to be made to balance the budget, whilst protecting our police service.
While I was extremely reluctant to ask taxpayers to contribute a little extra to support the police service, I am grateful to have had the unanimous support of the body which scrutinises my work, the Police and Crime Panel to increase the Council Tax precept.
Even with increasing the Council Tax precept there continues to be a significant budget gap. To bridge this gap, the Chief Constable has agreed to make savings and I plan to utilise reserves and one-off funding to balance the remaining budget. Setting a balanced budget in this way will protect the police service during 2024 to 2025, ensuring that police officer numbers are protected. Despite all of this, further savings will need to be made in future years if additional funding cannot be secured.
Despite protecting police officer numbers, Merseyside Police is still 450 officers short of the number it had in 2010, before the Government’s austerity programme. I am focused on doing everything possible to help protect Merseyside Police and to get it back to its former strength. I promise I will continue to lobby Ministers at every chance I get to provide the funding for those missing officers.
I have already secured nearly £11m of extra funding for the year ahead to support victims of crime, to assist Merseyside Police in reducing Anti-Social Behaviour in hotspots in our region, to continue the important work of the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership and to deliver Safer Street projects in Liverpool, St Helens, and Prescot Town Centres in partnership with the Local Authorities. I will continue this work to secure extra funding and grants for our region wherever possible.
I will also hold the Chief Constable to account to ensure we maximise every penny of the budget delivering on the shared priorities set out in my Police and Crime Plan to keep you safe.
Thank you for playing a vital role in helping us to protect our police service.
Emily Spurrell
Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside
Police and Crime Commissioner budget
How the money is spent:
| 2023 to 2024 | 2024 to 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Police Officer Pay | £195,914,000 | £221,466,000 |
| Police Pensions | £58,073,000 | £69,219,000 |
| Police Staff Pay | £83,984,000 | £92,411,000 |
| Police Staff Pensions | £11,200,000 | £14,611,000 |
| Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner | £1,539,000 | £1,650,000 |
| PCC Controlled Expenditure | £9,831,000 | £12,184,000 |
| Other | £72,582,000 | £60,722,000 |
| Gross Expenditure | £433,123,000 | £472,262,000 |
How our spending has changed:
| Gross Expenditure 2023 to 2024 | £433,123,000 |
| Allowance for Pay Inflation | £16,370,000 |
| Full Year Effect of 2023 pay award above original budget | £8,750,000 |
| Allowance for Price Inflation | £1,980,000 |
| Impact of Price Inflation above 2023 to 2024 Budget | £407,000 |
| Net Committed Growth (Savings) | £2,407,000 |
| Additional Police Pension Costs | £9,225,000 |
| Gross Expenditure 2024 to 2024 | £472,262,000 |
Where the money comes from:
| Source | 2023 to 2024 | 2024 to 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Police General Grant | (£287,568,000) | (£304,702,000) |
| Council Tax Grants | (£15,641,000) | (£15,641,000) |
| Council Tax Requirement | (£97,737,000) | (£103,292,000) |
| Collection Fund Deficit / (Surplus) | (£368,000) | £180,000 |
| Specific Government Grants | (£23,433,000) | (£42,249,000) |
| Income | (£3,172,000) | (£3,132,000) |
| Net Contribution to/(from) Reserves | (£5,204,000) | (£3,425,000) |
| Total Funding | (£433,123,000) | (£472,262,000) |
Why has the Council Tax requirement changed?
| Council Tax Requirement 2023 to 2024 | (£97,737,000) |
|---|---|
| Increase in tax base | (£487,000) |
| Increase in Band D Equivalent | (£5,068,000) |
| Council Tax Requirement 2024 TO 2025 | (£103,292,000) |
| 2023 to 2024 | 2024 to 2025 | Increase | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax Base (Band D Equivalent properties) | £387,892 | £389,826 | £1,934 |
| Band D Equivalent Change | £251.97 | £264.97 | £13.00 |
Your contribution for 2024 to 2025
| 2024 to 2025 | Increase | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Band A (majority of taxpayers on Merseyside) |
£176.65 | £8.67 |
| Tax Band B | £206.09 | £10.11 |
| Tax Band C | £235.53 | £11.56 |
| Tax Band D | £264.97 | £13.00 |
| Tax Band E | £323.85 | £18.77 |
| Tax Band F | £382.73 | £18.77 |
| Tax Band G | £441.62 | £21.67 |
| Tax Band H | £529.94 | £26.00 |
Contact the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside
Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside
Mather Avenue Training Centre
224 Mather Avenue
Liverpool
L18 9TG
Phone: 0151 777 5155
Email: info@merseysidepcc.info
Find out more about the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside