Cllr Tim Baum-Dixon, Anston & Woodsetts councillor and member of the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel, explained his opposition to the proposed police precept rise.
🚓 The South Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel approved a 5.66% increase in the police precept.
💷 That increase is £15 a year for a Band D household
📊 It is the maximum rise allowed without a referendum
❌ Cllr Baum-Dixon, the only Conservative on the panel, was the only member to vote against the proposal.
Cllr Baum-Dixon said: “I want police officers who are paid properly for the difficult work they do. I want officers with the resources they need to do their job well. What I will not support is local voters having their pockets pinched to cover failure by Labour nationally and locally.
‘The justification for this rise is wrong.”
Here are the facts you should know ⬇️
📌 In living memory, police pay awards have always been fully funded by central government
📌 This year, under Labour, that has not happened
📌 Labour has promised more police officers while not fully funding the pay award behind them
📌 They have written a cheque that will bounce
📌 £11 of the £15 Band D increase is to plug that funding gap, not to improve policing locally
📌 This is a real-terms cut from central government, passed straight on to you through council tax
📌 Residents across South Yorkshire, including Anston and Woodsetts, are being asked to pick up the bill for a national decision
There is also a credibility issue in how the case was made 👇
📉 South Yorkshire Police forecasts a deficit most years
📈 It then delivers a surplus
🏦 Those surpluses are moved into reserves, not:
🔹 Reducing the burden on you, the taxpayer, or
🔹 Being invested in priorities that matter in this ward, like reducing burglaries or properly funding rural crime teams
Delivering surpluses is good.
Using pessimistic forecasts to justify the maximum possible tax rise, while building reserves and failing to target local crime, is not.
✔️ Local Conservatives always back strong policing and fair pay for officers.
✋ Local Conservatives will not support Labour passing the cost of its own funding decisions straight on to you.
If you want to discuss this or share your view:
📩 Contact local Conservative Councillor Tim Baum-Dixon
