Northumbria households to continue paying the lowest police tax in the country

RESIDENTS across Northumbria will continue to pay the lowest police precept in the country, despite a small tax rise announced today.

Each year, the Police and Crime Commissioner is responsible for setting the amount of money households contribute to local police services through their council tax bill – this is known as the police ‘precept’.

Although from April 1st, taxpayers in the Northumbria force area will be parting with a few extra pence a month, the figure is still considerably less than the amount that others pay elsewhere in the country – with some paying hundreds of pounds more a year for their local police service.

The cost of Northumbria Police to households across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear is set to rise £14 a year for a Band D property – as proposed by Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner at the Police and Crime Panel in Gateshead today (Tuesday 4, February).

The increase was supported by the results of a public consultation ran by the Commissioner’s office during January 2025.

The precept rise is in line with Government expectations and will bring in an extra in £5.9m for Northumbria Police, which the Commissioner explained would help keep the force appropriately resourced, meet budgetary pressures and allow for some investment.

The announcement comes off the back of news last week that the new Government is putting an extra £100m into policing nationwide – doubling its financial commitment last Autumn. This additional funding is targeted at neighbourhood policing and can’t be used to support general budget pressures. Police budgets are still reliant on a third of their funding being raised through local taxes.

All funding is provided to the Police and Crime Commissioner who allocates finances to the Chief Constable to fund policing and the delivery of the Police and Crime Plan. A new Police and Crime Plan outlining a new set of priorities guided by local residents will be launched by PCC Susan Dungworth later this month.

The additional income generated through the precept will help support local policing throughout the force area. Potential areas for investment, backed by Northumbria’s Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine, include:

  • Prevention of ASB in urban and rural communities.
  • Tackling fraud and online crimes.
  • Targeting offenders and preventing Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE).
  • Increasing resourcing to help bring offenders to justice.

Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Susan Dungworth said: “I recognise the financial challenges faced by many – nobody wants to pay more in taxes, but here in Northumbria we’re still paying the lowest amount of tax towards policing in the country. This speaks volumes and shows Northumbria Police is delivering value for money – people are getting real bang for their buck. You live elsewhere, you pay more for policing. In other parts of the country there are Band D households paying £170 a year more for their police service. We’re really making the best of what we have.”

She added: “The Chief Constable and I are wholly committed to delivering safer streets and stronger communities across the force area, but without the appropriate funding, we face significant financial pressures even with Government’s much welcome cash boost for neighbourhood policing announced last week. Raising additional funding through a slight increase like this will help our force tackle local priorities that matter to local people and that’s what I am determined to do.”

“We await further detail from the Home Office around last week’s funding boost, and I look forward to working with the Chief Constable to determine what this translates to operationally in terms of boots on the ground, building on the existing strong neighbourhood policing model, and investigative work behind the scenes. All in all, its good news and will help officers deter, prevent and respond to crime in our area – growing people’s confidence and overall feelings of safety. At long last we have a Government in power that’s backing up its words to cut crime with the cash needed to help do it.”

Cllr Angela Douglas, Chair of the Northumbria Police and Crime Panel, said: “It is vital that everything we do to keep our communities safe is reflective of their views.

“The vast majority of survey respondents were supportive of an increased contribution to better tackle issues like anti-social behaviour, and we are proud to provide a high standard of policing at better value than many other areas of the country.

“We look forward to delivering on the key priorities for our communities with additional funding through the precept.”

The PCC’s decision follows a consultation that ran during January and saw more than 1,600 people complete an online or telephone survey asking if they supported an increase and how much extra they were willing to pay.

70% of respondents with an opinion were supportive of an increased contribution to their police precept. While 30% of respondents did not wish to pay any increase at all.

The Police and Crime Panel is independent of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and has a statutory responsibility to scrutinise the PCC’s proposed council tax precept.

ENDS