A 7.4% hike in the money that council taxpayers contribute to South Wales Police is being proposed as the force faces a budget gap of more than £20m. The precept proposal for next year (2023-4) which is due to go before the South Wales Police and Crime Panel would see an increase of £1.86 per month for band D properties marking a 7.4% increase for these properties on the 2022-23 rate.
The force is facing a £20.8m budget gap which the police and crime commissioner said must be made up through cuts and the precept. Alun Michael, the police and crime commissioner for South Wales, said his proposals to the panel are only sufficient if they find ways of cutting another £9.6m of spending this year.
He said that to maintain current funding across all requirements it would require a precept increase of more than 13%, which he “cannot even contemplate”, but with additional pressures it is now “impossible” to keep the level of increase down to the 5% projected in the midterm financial plan. He concluded that it will be “unsafe” to propose a precept less than 7.4% for the coming year which will provide a “workable budget” but not without considerable cuts and savings made in a variety of different ways to balance the books.
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