Staffordshire Commissioner Ben Adams has defended a £14 policing council tax hike – saying it is the 'right thing to do' to protect services.

Members of Staffordshire's police, fire and crime panel quizzed Mr Adams on his budget proposals, which include a 5.12 per cent increase in the policing council tax precept.

Mr Adams told the panel that he believed the majority of Staffordshire residents wanted to see continued investments in Staffordshire Police following recent improvements. But he also hit out at extra government funding being tied to specific recruitment in neighbourhood policing, warning that it could 'compromise' other areas of policing.

The budget includes proposals to cut up to 80 police staff roles, although Mr Adams said most of these would be vacant posts. The proposed precept increase, the maximum allowed, equates to an extra £14 a year for a Band D property.

Ben Adams said the increase was the 'right thing to do' to protect services (Image supplied).

Mr Adams said: "On the face of it, it's not a lot of money. Except people are really strapped at the minute. Things are not getting easier. So I think very hard even about 27p a week. My concern is that it's 5.12 per cent, which is twice inflation.

"I feel that the majority of residents want to see us continue to invest. They recognise the improvement in the service, they are seeing more arrests, more activity, more stop and search, better contact responses and a speedy response to 999 calls. The majority of consultees have supported an increase in their council tax, although not all of them the maximum.

"At this point, my view is that to maintain the progress we've been making, to protect the investment in officers, it's the right thing to do to ask for the full £14 increase."

Panel members heard that a nationally agreed pay increase would create a £2 million budget pressure in 2025/26, while the increase in employer National Insurance contributions would cost Staffordshire Police £400,000. And while the force is set to receive an extra £3 million for neighbourhood policing, this funding is ringfenced for achieving government-set neighbourhood officer targets.

The budget includes £10 million of savings, including deleting or reviewing vacant posts in areas such as the specialist crime command and public protection unit. There is also planned investment in new technology, as well as into tackling road and rural crime.

The budget also includes proposals to cut up to 80 police staff roles (SWNS).

Mr Adams said he was 'very keen' to limit job cuts to vacant posts, as Staffordshire Police as an organisation is 'already lean'. He suggested that the government's prescriptive approach to improving neighbourhood policing was hampering his ability to invest in other areas.

Mr Adams said: "Give us the resource, set the targets, but let us get on with it. We're already doing a decent job on neighbourhood policing here. We have other thing we need to balance with that in terms of investment, and they may be compromised as a result of that policy."

The panel agreed to support the proposed £14 precept increase unanimously. But panel chair Bernard Peters told Mr Adams that members would want to see evidence that the investment is getting results, going forward.

Cllr Peters said: "Having heard that you want to protect the service, protect the progress made, we'd like to see the investment programme linked in some way to the performance agenda that you have with the chief constable. We want to be able to access information that will allow us to measure how progress is being made. I make that comment in the context of the 5.1 per cent increase, which is going to be significant for many people in Staffordshire."

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