Police

Members agree to accept one-off grant from the government

Kent Police Authority has announced a freeze on police council tax in what is expected to be the toughest financial year yet for the force.

Members agreed unanimously to keep the precept as it was and to instead accept a one-off grant from the government of £2m to cover the gap in funding for 2012/13.

KPA chair Ann Barnes admitted the forthcoming financial year would be the hardest yet, with savings needed of £20m.

It forms the biggest portion of the £50m savings required by Kent Police over four years. Around £7m was saved in 2011/12, £20m is needed for the upcoming 2012/13, £12m for 2013/14 and £13m for 2014/15.

“The £50m is what we’re not going to be getting in (government) grants,” said Mrs Barnes.

“It’s hard and very challenging, but we’ve been preparing for this for quite some time and confident we can do this without cutting services.

“A one year grace in council tax will help hard pressed families and this decision means that those who are struggling are not burdened with anymore financial worry.”

A budget of £274m was set at the police authority meeting –around £1.5m is spent annually to run KPA – with the average band D household paying £2.67 a week for policing services.

Mrs Barnes said: “Every department has to make efficiency savings and we have to find better ways of doing things for less money.

“At the end of the day the thing that costs organisations the most is people. By March 2015 we will have 500 fewer police officers and 1,000 fewer staff. We’re not getting away from that.

“What we have to do is make sure that the people we have are used to the best capacity.”

Mrs Barnes said she was confident the force would continue to deliver savings without affecting services.

“People always say these are challenging times, but there are always wonderful opportunities in times of challenge,” she said.

Last year the county was split into three policing divisions – West, North, and East – and a new appointment system was introduced to enable victims of crime to see an officer at a time and place of their choosing.

Mrs Barnes said: “We’ve got hundreds of extra officers in our neighbourhoods; the new 101 number is in place where everyone now knows who to call; the force in Kent has been remodelled – I’m confident that because we started planning early we can meet the financial challenges.”

She added: “The Authority will continue to monitor the force to ensure it continues to deliver the best possible policing service for the taxpayers of the county.”