THE Hampshire Police and Crime Panel has backed the county’s police and crime commissioner’s decision to raise the 2017/18 council tax precept by 3.12 per cent to pay for policing across the county and the Isle of Wight.

Panel members heard Michael Lane set out his case on January 27 to raise the precept by just over three per cent. For residents in a Band D property, this equates to a charge of £165.46 per year, representing an additional £5 for the year 2017/18, or an extra 10p per week.

An increase of £5 per year for a Band D property will generate an extra £3.3m for Hampshire Constabulary. It means current national funding is protected, allows the current level of neighbourhood policing to be maintained, and will enable some further enhancements and modernisation to police services.

Following the decision-making meeting last Friday, Mr Lane said: “The precept decision for 2017/18 needs to take into account both the immediate and medium-term resourcing requirements that enable Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Southampton and Portsmouth to be safer now and in the future.

“A £5 increase will put us in a stronger position to meet the immediate risks and continue to respond to the ever-increasing complexity of crime. However, even with this, and future projected increases in council tax, it is estimated that if national government funding for policing continues to be worked out in a way that is unfair we will be facing a funding shortfall of £23m per year by 2021.”

Set up in 2012, the police and crime panel’s role is to scrutinise and support the work of the police and crime commissioner and maintain a regular check and balance on his performance.

In supporting Mr Lane’s proposal, panel chairman David Steward said: “Through the work of our finance working group, we satisfied ourselves that the precept increase is appropriate to maintain an effective level of policing in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight over the next financial year, while at the same time acknowledging the continuing financial pressures.”

And he added: “The panel is confident that by supporting the police and crime commissioner’s budget for 2017/18, the people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will continue to receive a high-quality policing service.”