Police authority budgets capped

Ministers want to protect council tax payers from excessive rises

Seven police authorities and a city council in England which forced council tax rises beyond the government's limits are to be penalised.

The biggest casualty is Lincolnshire where the police authority had set the largest police precept in the country.

The government has now ordered new and lower council tax bills to be issued to Lincolnshire residents.

Other authorities that have been capped are Cheshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Warwickshire, Bedfordshire and Surrey.

Portsmouth City Council has also been set a budget level.

There is no excuse for excessive increases in council tax, the government will use its powers to deal with excessive increases John Healey, Local Government Minister

For Cheshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire police authorities, council tax levels for 2008/09 will remain unchanged but the government has put a limit on their precept increases until 2011.

The council tax levels for Portsmouth and Bedfordshire, Norfolk and Surrey police authorities will stay the same but the government has proposed notional budgets.

These authorities now have 21 days to challenge the budget levels before a final decision is made.

Local Government Minister John Healey said the action was necessary.

"There is no excuse for excessive increases in council tax, and authorities should be in no doubt that the government will use its full range of capping powers to deal with excessive increases and protect council tax payers in future years," he said.

"The government is sending a clear message to all authorities - if you set an excessive increase in council tax, you can expect tough action from us to protect taxpayers."

'Bureaucratic exercise'

But the Association of Police Authorities (APA) has criticised the decision.

Chairman Bob Jones said: "We are extremely disappointed that the government's decision to cap police authority council tax for seven authorities across the country means that local views on police spending have not been heard.

Capping means that local people do not have the final say on how money is spent on their local services. Sir Simon Milton, Local Government Association chairman

"In Lincolnshire's case... this money could and should have been spent on front-line policing for local communities, instead of being wasted on a bureaucratic exercise."

Lincolnshire's police authority had increased the police precept by 79%. At the time the then Chief Constable Tony Lake praised the police authority for taking the "brave" decision to breach the capping limit and said it would correct years of under-funding.

The increase was thought to have been the equivalent of adding about £2 a week to average council tax bills in the county.

'Bitterly disappointed'

Chairman of the Local Government Association, Sir Simon Milton, said councils and local people should decide how council tax money should be spent.

He said: "Capping Lincolnshire Police Authority will mean that seven councils have to send out new bills to residents, which could end up costing tens of thousands of pounds."

Chief constable of Lincolnshire Police, Richard Crompton, said he was disappointed with the decision.

"The government decision means we cannot make the investment into policing in Lincolnshire which we know is necessary to provide acceptable levels of service," he said.

"I am bitterly disappointed that we have been left in this position."