Police pay rises may lead to council tax increase

Surrey's police and crime commissioner Lisa Townsend is responsible for setting the amount each household pays towards policing

The police and crime commissioner (PCC) for Surrey has warned she could be forced to increase council tax to cover the cost of a pay rise for police officers.

The government recently committed £120m for a 4.2% pay increase for police ranks up to chief superintendents in England and Wales, with Surrey receiving £1.3m for its officers from 1 September to the end of March next year.

But Surrey PCC Lisa Townsend says the increase will cost £2.2m for a full year going forwards, but the government has not offered any funding, so it may need to be recovered through council tax.

The government said it would soon be giving more details of police funding allocations for future years.

The PCC, who is responsible for setting the level of council tax each household pays towards policing, says she may need to add £4.50 on to each annual bill to cover the pay rises in the 2026/2027 financial year.

Ms Townsend said: "There is no doubt that this pay increase is well-deserved, our officers work tirelessly to keep Surrey safe and I'm delighted that their efforts are being recognised by the government.

"However, this wage increase for officers, as welcome as it is, exceeds the salary increases budgeted for by many forces, including Surrey."

She said: "Surrey receives the lowest settlement of all forces, placing an unacceptably high burden on our taxpayers."

Ms Townsend has criticised the government for using the police funding formula to calculate the amount of funding Surrey Police received, rather than by the number of officers on the force.

According to the government, the formula "shares out the amount of money designated for police funding between forces based on their relative needs compared to each other".

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are committed to ensuring police forces have the resources they need to keep communities safe and deliver on our Safer Streets Mission.

"On top of the £17.6bn police funding for 2025–26, we're giving forces an extra £120m this year to cover the pay award.

"The chancellor has announced a real terms increase in police spending power over the next three years and more detail on force funding allocations for 2026/2027 will be set out at the forthcoming police funding settlement."