Tax bill will rise to pay for police

There will be a £12 increase in the police element of council tax bills, known as the police precept, which equates to an extra £1 a month for residents in Band D homes.

But most people will pay less than 80 pence per month in 2018/19 because three-quarters of properties in West Yorkshire fall into bands A, B and C.

Police and crime commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson said 75 per cent of people surveyed before the budget was set had said they would be willing to pay more.

And at its latest meeting, West Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel signed off on a budget based on the suggested 7.95 per cent precept increase.

It means the precept will generate an extra £7.7m towards policing costs during the year ahead.

Mr Burns-Williamson said: “I certainly didn’t want to put any extra burden on local tax payers but the fact is these new resources just simply wouldn’t be available if it wasn’t for the help of our communities in helping me raise the additional funds.”

He said the precept would help to tackle road safety, cyber crime, and child sex exploitation. Properties in council tax band A will pay £108.63 – £8 more, B will pay £126.74 – £9.33 more, C £144.84 – £10.67 more, D £162.95 – £12 more, E £199.16 – £14.67 more, F £235.37 – £17.33 more, G £271.58 – £20 more, and H £325.90 – £24 more. The amount paid by West Yorkshire residents to help fund local policing is set to rise from April after the county’s police and crime commissioner won support for his budget proposals.