PCC gives more details on police precept rise

Philip Wilkinson, Wiltshire's police and crime commissioner, worries the budget shortfall will affect the quality of policing

Wiltshire's police and crime commissioner has given more details about his plans to raise the police precept by the maximum amount allowed.

Philip Wilkinson is asking to increase the policing element of council tax bills to help plug a £11m gap in Wiltshire Police's budget.

It would mean a rise of £14 per year, or £1.16 extra per month, for band D households.

Speaking at a meeting of the Police and Crime Panel, Mr Wilkinson said: "This year, our room for manoeuvre is, I believe, almost non-existent".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Wilkinson said the force receives the third lowest funding per head in the country.

Even if the police precept does increase, the force would still be short of £6.2m to £6.4m which would have to be resolved by cuts, Mr Wilkinson said.

Chief finance officer David Moran said the force's financial challenges were "more pronounced" than he has ever experienced in policing

Chief finance officer David Moran also attended the meeting with Wiltshire's Police and Crime Panel on Thursday.

He described the financial challenges faced by the force as "more pronounced" than he has ever experienced in policing.

He added that the situation is "getting tough across almost all forces" and "difficult choices" will have to be made.

Wiltshire Police was in special measures between June 2022 and May 2024.

Mr Wilkinson said he is worried the force's improvement will start to plateau because it will have to "squeeze everything out" in order to manage finances.

"Should the funding formula stay the same... I would not be confident to say that we would be able to continue to deliver the service that Wiltshire Police Force is on its way to delivering," he said.