Protecting your police service
As your Police and Crime Commissioner, it is my responsibility to ensure Merseyside Police is well-equipped to manage and respond to the risks that threaten your safety and make you feel unsafe.
Regrettably, this is becoming more difficult year on year. As new problems and risks emerge, and crime becomes more sophisticated, the gulf between what we have and what we need keeps on growing. The position is made more challenging by rising costs, including pay and inflation, stretching the policing budget ever more thinly.
While I was extremely reluctant to ask local taxpayers to pay more, I am grateful for your support for paying a little extra towards policing to ensure the force can still deliver the strong and visible policing presence important to all of us. I am also grateful to the Police and Crime Panel, the body tasked with scrutinising my work, for unanimously endorsing my proposals.
Even with the additional precept income, and the funding provided by the Government, there is still a significant budget gap. The Chief Constable is working hard to find further efficiency savings on top of those already identified, and I plan to utilise reserves and one-off funding this year to balance the budget in a way that will protect officer and staff numbers and continue service delivery. I will also hold the Chief Constable to account to ensure we maximise every penny of the budget delivering on the priorities set out in my Police and Crime Plan to keep you safe.
Despite the budget challenges, crime on Merseyside is falling. The most recent crime figures show a drop of 13% in overall crime in the year ending 30 September 2024, with reductions in key crime types including violence, robbery, anti-social behaviour and burglary.
During the 2024/25 financial year I successfully secured £12.017m of additional funding, an increase of £1.637m on the previous year to make Merseyside safer, by preventing crime, bring offenders to justice and protecting victims.
I will continue my work to secure more funding for our region and will fight to get Merseyside Police the funding it needs to see the return of the 450 missing officers, as well as protect staff jobs, so it can deliver a visible police presence in every community on Merseyside.
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:
| 2024 to 2025 | 2025 to 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Police Officer Pay | £221,466,000 | £246,092,000 |
| Police Pensions | £69,219,000 | £72,099,000 |
| Police Staff Pay | £92,411,000 | £111,261,000 |
| Police Staff Pensions | £14,611,000 | £16,584,000 |
| Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner | £1,650,000 | £1,837,000 |
| PCC Controlled Expenditure | £12,184,000 | £10,156,000 |
| Other | £60,721,000 | £43,846,000 |
| Gross Expenditure | £472,262,000 | £501,875,000 |
How our spending has changed:
| Gross Expenditure 2024 to 2025 | £472,262,000 |
|---|---|
| Full Year Effect of 2024 pay award above original budget | £5,456,000 |
| Impact of Price Inflation above 2024 to 2025 contingency | £742,000 |
| Increase in Employers National Insurance | £6,920,000 |
| Cost of Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee | £6,665,000 |
| Additional Recruitment Top Up Expenditure | £1,722,000 |
| Allowance for Pay Inflation | £12,801,000 |
| Allowance for Price Inflation | £1,866,000 |
| Net Committed Growth (Savings) | -£6,559,000 |
| Gross Expenditure 2025 to 2026 | £501,875,000 |
Where the money comes from:
| Source | 2024 to 2025 | 2025 to 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Police General Grant | (£304,702,000) | (£315,998,000) |
| Council Tax Grants | (£15,641,000) | (£15,641,000) |
| Council Tax Requirement | (£103,292,000) | (£111,273,000) |
| Collection Fund Deficit / (Surplus) | £180,000 | (£928,000) |
| Specific Government Grants | (£42,249,000) | (£50,747,000) |
| Income | (£3,132,000) | (£3,172,000) |
| Net Contribution to/(from) Reserves | (£3,425,000) | (£4,116,000) |
| Total Funding | (£472,262,000) | (£501,875,000) |
Why has the Council Tax requirement changed?
| Council Tax Requirement 2024 to 2025 | (£103,292,000) |
|---|---|
| Increase in tax base | (£2,397,000) |
| Increase in Band D Equivalent | (£5,584,000) |
| Council Tax Requirement 2025 to 2026 | (£111,273,000) |
| 2024 to 2025 | 2025 to 2026 | Increase | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax Base (Band D Equivalent properties) | £389,826 | £398,872 | £9,046 |
| Band D Equivalent Change | £264.97 | £278,97 | £14.00 |
Your contribution for 2025 to 2026
| Council Tax Bands | 2024 to 2025 | 2025 to 2026 | Increase | Increase % | Increase per week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tax Band A (majority of taxpayers on Merseyside) |
£176.65 | £185.98 | £9.33 | 5.28% | £0.18 |
| Tax Band B | £206.09 | £216.98 | £10.89 | 5.28% | £0.21 |
| Tax Band C | £235.53 | £247.97 | £12.44 | 5.28% | £0.24 |
| Tax Band D | £264.97 | £278.97 | £14.00 | 5.28% | £0.27 |
| Tax Band E | £323.85 | £340.96 | £17.11 | 5.28% | £0.33 |
| Tax Band F | £382.73 | £402.96 | £20.23 | 5.28% | £0.39 |
| Tax Band G | £441.62 | £464.95 | £23.33 | 5.28% | £0.45 |
| Tax Band H | £529.94 | £557.94 | £28.00 | 5.28% | £0.54 |
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