Lincolnshire police commissioner rules out referendum on raising their proportion of council tax
Mark Jones says holding a vote on raising charges wouldn't be a good use of resources.
Last updated 3rd Feb 2025
Lincolnshire's police commissioner has ruled out holding a referendum on raising their proportion of council tax by more than the Government guidance.
The force is looking at cutting officer numbers due to financial issues.
It says there's a 14 million pound shortfall in its budget for the next financial year.
But Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones says he doesn't feel a vote would be a good use of resources.
The Government guidelines suggest not increasing the charge by over 5 per cent.
More than that would require public backing via a referendum.
Mr Jones said he did consider a bigger increase.
Police forces are limited to a council tax rise of £14 per year for Band D households without holding a referendum
He wrote to the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper asking of they could get permission to go over 5 per cent without a public vote but that was turned down.
Police forces are limited to a council tax rise of £14 per year for Band D households without holding a referendum.
The police commissioner has now decided against holding a vote on the matter.
Under the current proposal, households will likely be asked to pay 4.59 per cent extra – equivalent to £13.95 or 27p per week for those in Band D.
The proposed council tax increase will be discussed by the Police and Crime Panel later this week and the committee can decide whether to accept it or not.
In a report for the meeting, the commissioner wrote: “Informed by the views of local people and the consequences for policing in Lincolnshire of the medium term financial outlook, I wrote to the Policing Minister on January 14 seeking her support for a proposed increase in the referendum threshold for Lincolnshire.
It would not be a good use of resources and would lead to uncertainty at a time when decisive action is required
“Given the overwhelming support of the people of Lincolnshire for increased funding for their Police Force to maintain policing services as much as possible, I would be prepared to raise the Council Tax by more than £14.
“However, I would not be prepared to undertake a costly local referendum."
"It would not be a good use of resources and would lead to uncertainty at a time when decisive action is required.”
The report adds: “The Police & Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable are in ongoing dialogue with the Home Office to seek to secure additional funding for Lincolnshire.”
The council tax increase would be equivalent to an additional £9.30 per for those lowing in the lowest-value Band A homes, for a total of £212.
Band B would be asked to pay £10.85 more, adding up to £247.
Band C would have a £12.40 increase, paying £282 across the year.
New recruits who were expecting to start in March unexpectedly had their job offers cancelled this week amid efforts to save money.
Police officer numbers will need to be reduced by around 200 to 1000 by 2028/29.