Kirklees Council says no to super-size Police force costs

10.54.47am GMT Fri 23rd Dec 2005

No to super-size police force costs

Kirklees Council Leader Councillor Kath Pinnock has won the argument in Kirklees to keep the existing police authority boundaries.

"This is the biggest restructure that the Police Force has ever undertaken the whole process seems to be happening at break-neck speed with little assessment of the impact on residents of Kirklees."

"I have three major concerns which have not been addressed. There are concerns locally about the impact on local policing during a period of major. There are also concerns about how people will relate to a regional force. But most important is how it will impact financially on the on the council tax payer through the amount the police levy on the council tax."

"The West Yorkshire police force is performing very well - this may be at risk due to the enormous scale of operations. The push to have the boundaries the same as the Government Office boundaries looks like more evidence of increasing centralisation rather than a tool for effective policing."

"I have concerns about how local people will relate to a strategic force. Local people need to have a say in how their area is policed - through community policing, and accountable police authorities. The proposal to have a super-size police force might just make the police become remote and distance from the people that they serve."

"My biggest worry is the financial impact of the proposals. This will be felt in two ways. Firstly it looks like the Government intends for the costs of restructuring and supporting the new arrangements to fall on local government. For the super-size force the initial set up costs are estimated to be £15.4 million for a merger across the regions. For a merger with North Yorkshire then the costs are likely to be around £6.5 million. From the information available it appears that the police will have to borrow this money and then pay it back over a number of years. The cost of doing this will fall on the shoulders of council tax payers."

"Secondly the effects will not be distributed equally across the region. Different parts of the region cost more to police. North Yorkshire for instance has some of the highest policing costs will benefit but this will be to the detriment of tax payers in Kirklees. Council tax payers in Kirklees would have to pay for the much higher costs of policing in North Yorkshire. This will have an impact on the levels of Council tax in Kirklees. Council tax levels are already a concern across the region for next year with the Local Government Association already warning of £100 council tax rises. It looks as if the costs of the new arrangements could push Council tax bills here in Kirklees up by another £28. If (more likely when) this restructure happens then Council tax payers in Kirklees must not be penalised. I want to see an appropriate adjustment is made to the finances of local government to ensure that any restructure in not paid for by council tax payers in Kirklees."