Lincolnshire Police joins online crime fighting initiative

Lincolnshire Police will recruit a further 60 officers next year if a council tax increase between 20p to 26p a week can be agreed.

This recruitment in the 2021/22 financial year will be in addition to 54 new officer posts already planned.

This is part of new projects identified by Chief Constable Chris Haward and Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones, which will be approved if the council tax rise is agreed.

PCC Jones is proposing the rise to help pay for various measures designed to improve community safety.

The proposed rise accounts for 5.9% of the policing element of council tax, which will deliver an additional £2.9 million in funding.

This is the proposed council tax for 2021/22 per band.

The list of priorities identified includes the following:

• A new team dedicated to fighting crime and saving lives on the county’s roads
• The establishment of specialist teams to drive down community crime in both rural and urban areas
• More tasers for frontline officers
• An increase in armed response units to tackle violent crime
• Investment in new technology to give better public access

This comes just days after the results of the PCC’s annual survey, which was completed by 3,243 people.

Some 87% agreed they were prepared to pay more council tax. 77% of people said they were prepared to pay 10% more.

In every council district more than a third said they were willing to pay a 20% increase.

Mr Jones said: “The outcome of the research is at odds with my personal feelings that given the current challenging situation for the personal finances of many in our community even a modest rise of around £1 a month would be too much to ask.

“I have, however, made no secret in previous years that I would respect the outcome of these robust consultations and so I cannot, in all conscience, choose to ignore it this year.

“The public have spoken. They have said no to a freeze in council tax and a reduction in policing and officer numbers and yes to a pound or so a month increase as long as it’s directed to frontline policing.”

He added that Lincolnshire Police remains one of the lowest funded police forces in the country.

Chris Haward, who replaced Bill Skelly as Chief Constable in December last year, said violent crime and low force morale will take priority in 2021.

Scrutiny councillors at East Lindsey District Council have called a 3.49% rise in council tax in 2021-22 “small” and trivial, hitting out at historical decisions not to increase rates.

The authority’s plans will see the council’s precept rise by £4.95 a year – an extra 9.5p on a Band D property.

ELDC remains one of the lowest rates in the county and its precept makes up 8% of the overall bill, with the rest going to county council, the drainage boards and police and crime commissioner.

At a meeting of the council’s overview committee on Tuesday, Councillor Jill Makinson-Sanders said: “3% on a small amount is footling really, percentages don’t mean a huge amount really do they?”

“The claim that we’re the cheapest place in the East Midlands was pathetic really, it doesn’t matter. If people need the services we need to charge for them.”

“We did start from a low base and we do have to be grown up about it, things are costing more money and if we want those services, we have to pay for them don’t we?”

She, and other councillors, called for the breakdown of where council tax goes to be made clearer – particularly around how much went to the local drainage boards.

Committee Chairman Councillor Fiona-Martin said a number of years without percentage increases “didn’t actually do us any favours”.

“Once you have the end of the day, in some stages you then have a rather large increase because you’ve got so far behind everybody else and you can’t deliver services without the resources to do so,” she said.

Council bosses say the 2021-22 budget looks at redressing the imbalance created by the COVID-19 pandemic and focuses on the economic recovery.

Council officer Adrian Sibley told councillors that one saving grace for the authority this year included a delay in the fairer funding review for a year, meaning any predicted shortfalls from that could be carried over into the next year and further savings can be found in the meantime.

Councillor Richard Fry, finance portfolio holder for ELDC said: “We all know we are still have been and still going through challenging times and so, this is not a normal budget at all. What we’re focusing on pretty much at the heart of this project is economic recovery.”

The budget includes extra income from commercial activities, ongoing savings from reduced spending on supplies and services as well as the new Strategic Alliance and increased capital investment in council assets.

Boston Borough Council has also approved an almost £5 council tax hike for 2021/22, but are looking at a deficit of £700,000 in future years.

South Holland also going for £4.95 (2.75%), South Kesteven going for a round £5 (3.06%) and Lincoln increasing by £5.31 (1.9%).

Lincolnshire County Council accepted a 1.99% rise, but declined to take an extra 3% for its adult social care precept. However, North East Lincolnshire has so far had no issues with taking the full 4.98% rise.

The Police and Crime Commissioner is seeking to hike his share of tax by 5.9% (20-26p extra per week).

Boston Borough Council has approved an almost £5 council tax hike for 2021/22, but are looking at a deficit of £700,000 in future years.

There will be £98,000 surplus for next year due to coronavirus postponing the fair funding review. Band D properties in Boston will go from £192.96 to £197.91, a 2.57% rise.

This amounts to a 9p per week increase for band D properties and a 6p per week rise for Band A properties, bringing a return to the council of around £100,000 a year.

Section 151 Officer Adrian Sibley said: “We are looking at a £98,000 surplus for next year, which means that we’re collecting more income, and we’ll have more fees and charges and government grants than what we’ll be spending.

“It’s largely because the coronavirus has pushed the fair funding review down the road another year.”

“The fair funding review is where the government looks at how it allocates funds to each council, and it looks like there will be a shift from districts and borough councils to county councils and unitaries in the future years because that’s where the demands and pressures are on public finances at the moment, particularly in terms of Adult Social Care and Children’s Services.”

He added: “It looks like that will turn into a deficit of around about £700,000, so we’ll have to find that money in future years.”

“It could have been a lot worse than this and some councils up and down the country are in an extremely perilous financial position, and this council isn’t in that position, it’s in a fairly healthy position.”

The Audit & Governance Committee on Monday evening.

Proposals were made for a 0% increase on council tax for the borough.

Cllr Anne Dorrian said: “I think the residents of Boston need a break. And I think that it’s in our gift to give them a break. And that break should be no council tax increase at all this year.”

She added: “We have many residents who are very low waged. And I feel very strongly that when we’ve got the opportunity to support them, that’s what they elected us to do. It’s not a PR exercise, please don’t think that. It’s a genuine plea from me for the more vulnerable people in our society.”

“I think this would give people a real genuine mental health boost.”

Cllr Thomas Ashton said: “I believe it would be greatly irresponsible of us to make that £700,000 deficit next year an £800,000 deficit.”

Proposals for a 0% increase for 2021/22 fell with seven out of 10 voting to approve the council tax increase.

The authorities have joined several others in reaching for higher tax rises, with South Holland also going for £4.95 (2.75%), South Kesteven going for a round £5 (3.06%) and Lincoln increasing by £5.31 (1.9%).

Lincolnshire County Council accepted a 1.99% rise, but declined to take an extra 3% for its adult social care precept. However, North East Lincolnshire has so far had no issues with taking the full 4.98% rise.

The Police and Crime Commissioner is seeking to hike his share of tax by 5.9% (20-26p extra per week).

The Boston budget proposals will go to consultation and full council before April.