Sussex Police has to plug £6million funding gap Katy Bourne told by chief constable
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The news was shared by Chief Constable Jo Shiner during a meeting with Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne on Friday (January 20).
Mrs Bourne said Sussex Police could receive just over £207m of funding for the coming year – £14.9m more than last year – with £11.2m being raised if council tax is increased by £15.
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Hide AdWhen asked if the maximum council tax increase would meet the force’s expenditure for the coming year, Ms Shiner said it would go a very long way but would still leave a gap.
Looking even further forward, the funding gap over the next few years was described as ‘quite significant’.
Following work to find savings – as well as the ongoing ‘transformation programme’ with Surrey Police looking at ways the two forces could work together more – there would still be another £900,000 to find, which would be taken from reserves.
Ms Shiner said the budgeted costs for 2023/24 would be £369.6m – an increase of £19.7m compared to 2022/23.
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Hide AdOne area of policing which appears to be safe from the ‘savings’ axe is the PCSOs.
Mrs Bourne called the changes made in 2016, which saw dozens of officers leave, a ‘bad move’ and a ‘headache’.
Ms Shiner said: “PCSOs are a really important part of our community strategy and we know that communities really love them and we know that they’re very effective in terms of problem solving and follow-up visits to vulnerable people.”
She added: “As far as we possibly can – and of course none of us know what’s round the corner – we would want to keep the value of PCSOs within Sussex Police.”
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Hide AdAs for the idea of increasing council tax by more than £15 to fully cover the budget gap, Mrs Bourne said that would not be allowed without a referendum.
That in itself would prove so expensive that it would be counter-productive.
Sussex Police is only one of the precepting authorities, alongside county, district as well as town and parish councils on top of East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.