During a full meeting of Gwent Police Authority last week (Friday 18 February 2011) , members have approved a 3.7% increase in the Council Tax levied for police purposes for 2011-12.
Police Authority Chair Cilla Davies commented:
“The increase is necessary to ensure that the Force can continue to cut crime and provide an effective, efficient and sustainable Police service to the communities of Gwent. The increase of 3.7% is the lowest rise across the four Welsh Police Forces and the figure was agreed following extensive discussions with Authority Members over several months.
The main reason for the increase is that the grant support Gwent Police receives from Government is being reduced by around 20% over the next four years. In real terms this is a reduction from £122 million in 2009-10 to under £100 million by 2014/15. We therefore need to maximise our income in order to maintain and improve services to the communities in Gwent.
Gwent Police Authority has listened hard to our communities, and whilst we are fully aware of the current financial challenges facing many people, we believe that today’s announcement strikes a fair balance.
To that end the Force is continuing to identify areas where it can do more for less. We have set demanding efficiency targets and will continue to work hard with the Chief Officer team to ensure that the public receive the very best service from Gwent Police”.
