HAMPSHIRE’S police and crime commissioner has been forced to ‘think again’ after his plan to cut 110 police officers while raising the budget for his own office was opposed by a scrutiny panel.

Michael Lane planned to save £7m by removing 162 officer and support staff posts while increasing his own “low” office spending.

During a meeting of Hampshire’s Police and Crime Panel last Friday, which was televised by BBC South, members were asked to approve the commissioner’s recommendation to raise the precept by an additional £12 for the year 2018/19, or an extra 23p per week, for residents living in a Band D property. This would equate to a total increase of £177.46 per year for the average Band D property, for the year beginning April 1, 2018.

While approving of the idea of increasing the precept, they were clearly shocked by the suggestion that the additional funding would go not on keeping officers on the beat but on the police and crime commissioner’s staff.

Panel chairman Dave Stewart’s view of the proposal was that Hampshire and Isle of Wight residents would not be prepared to pay more to see the police and crime commissioner team increased at the expense of frontline police officers.

The panel didn’t approve the proposed increase in the precept as outlined. Instead, members unanimously voted for a new recommendation that any funding increase goes directly to retaining and enhancing the services provided by police officers and staff. The panel also asked the commissioner to consider how he can better communicate his role and the funding he receives for this to the public.

Mr Stewart said: “In considering the proposals very carefully, we have exercised our statutory powers to challenge the commissioner to ensure that the precept increase will support frontline policing and keep communities safe and secure. Residents across our communities have shared their views with us about what matters to them most about policing, and what issues they think should be prioritised in policing budgets to keep them safe.

“Against a backdrop of ongoing financial constraint and pressure on police resources in Hampshire, we are satisfied that with the new recommendation applied to the commissioner’s proposed council tax increase, it is appropriate to maintain an effective level of policing in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in the coming financial year.”

He continued: “We are confident that the police and crime commissioner’s budget for 2018/19, with this new recommendation in place, will see the people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight continue to receive a high standard of policing.”

Hampshire Police Federation chairman John Apter said the panel’s decision that cash must go to the frontline was a victory for “commonsense” and thanked members for taking widespread objections on board.

“I’m grateful that the Police and Crime Panel have listened to not only my concerns but the concerns of members of the public who have demanded that any increase in council tax must be spent on frontline policing.

“Hampshire Constabulary are in a difficult place financially, so it would be wholly inappropriate for the police and crime commissioner to have used any of the increase in council tax to pay for extra staff for his own office, which is why I thank the Police and Crime Panel for doing what the public and my colleagues would expect them to do, which is to ensure commonsense prevails.”

Mr Lane’s application for cash for ‘essential staff’ included money for executive officer positions and cash for an assistant police and crime commissioner. Money was previously paid out of reserves.

The commissioner said the cost of his office was “still small in comparison to the norms of businesses” and it funded the cost of managing the police estate, auditing to ensure commissioning grants and contracts were value for money, and the public engagement programme.

Speaking after last Friday’s meeting, he said: “I will reflect on the panel’s recommendation of how the precept is distributed across policing and my office. I follow a strict public service ethos and always test that anything I do represents added value. My office costs less than one per cent of the budget and almost all is spent on what I am mandated, by Government, to deliver.

“The £12 increase will help us to avoid making cuts that would otherwise be needed in the coming year. It will, for example, enable us to maintain the current levels of neighbourhood policing this year, which I know is valued by, and a priority for, our communities.

“It also gives us the opportunity to invest in technology and the time to develop new service delivery models that will be a strong foundation for effective and efficient policing in the future.”