Norfolk police commissioner's new budget to cost taxpayers around 25p a week

Councillors will scrutinise a decision to increase the policing budget by almost six per cent – which is expected to cost taxpayers around 25p a week.

On Tuesday, Norfolk’s police and crime commissioner (PCC), Lorne Green, will take his proposals for the 2021/22 policing budget to the county’s Police and Crime Panel.

The panel, which is made up of councillors and independent members, will scrutinise the proposed budget plans, which aim to tackle fraud and the unprecedented rise in domestic abuse.

In a four-week public consultation, which ran during December and January, Mr Green sought the community’s views on a policing precept rise of 5.68 per cent.

This represents the equivalent of 29p a week for a band D property or 22p a week for a band B property. The majority of properties in the county are in bands A to D.

Mr Green (pictured) said the decision to increase the budget was one of the most difficult he was tasked with making.

He said: “It is a decision made all the more difficult given the unprecedented times we find ourselves living in, when any further changes to household budgets can seem difficult for people to consider.”

While the increased budget is likely to divert funds from other public utilities, he added that the decision was crucial in order to maintain the safety of residents and visitors to the county.

“We must not lose the gains that have been made to policing in our county over the past four years,” he added.