Council taxpayers are facing higher costs than ever to fund local policing, new figures show. The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) said it was disappointing to see police and crime commissioners "choose to take more money from local residents" when "the cost of living is still biting hard on many". Home Office figures show council taxpayers will have to shell out £165 million to fund Sussex Police in 2024-25 – a real-terms rise of six per cent from the £156 million paid the year before.
This equates to an increase of £13 to the average council tax bill . This is equivalent to 42 per cent of the whole funding for policing in Sussex and the highest figure since local records began in 2015-16. In total, Sussex Police will receive £395 million – up from £365 million in 2023-24.
The government will supply the additional £230 million. A spokesman for the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner said the total police funding per head of population in Sussex means that the force is the sixth lowest funded in England and Wales. He said that earlier this year it was calculated that a precept increase would be essential so that Sussex Police can meet the “increased costs of pay, inflation and preserve the improvements in capacity, visibility and accessibility built up since 2018”.
Despite the rise, he said it will not be enough to balance the force’s budget and offset the large cost increases that are anticipated, leaving the requirement to make £6 million savi.