Proposal to rise council tax for police funding

Increase of 5.2% on the cards

Residents across Devon and Cornwall may have to pay more towards policing in their council tax.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Alison Hernandez, will propose an increase of 5.2% a year. 

This increase would be £15 a year for an average Band D property.

Ms Hernandez said she feared officer numbers would be at risk if councillors on the Panel did not approve the increase, after a government grant settlement which has left the force with a budget shortfall or around £3 million for 2026-27. 

43% of the funding for Devon and Cornwall police comes from council taxpayers, a far higher proportion than many other parts of the country, with the rest of the budget coming from central government. 

The government caps the amount that police commissioners are allowed to increase council tax at £15 for a Band D property, but even with the maximum increase allowed, the budget for Devon and Cornwall Police will rise by 4.2% in 2026-7 compared to the national average of 4.5%. 

Commissioner Hernandez said: “The new government settlement appears to effectively penalise the force for this success in meeting national recruitment targets by removing base funding for those officers. 

“Across England and Wales the average grant increase for policing is 4.5%, however in Devon and Cornwall that figure is 4.2%. Only four policing areas in England have had a lower provisional settlement than Devon and Cornwall. This leaves me with an anticipated shortfall of around £3million and no choice but to ask taxpayers to pay more.”

The Commissioner says the Chief Constable has assured her the funding gap is unlikely to affect the total number of officers which remains at the record high of 3,610, because of £6 million of locally identified efficiencies already planned in next year’s budget. 

One of other the reasons the force is not likely to have to reduce the number of officers is that the two counties have a very high proportion of second homes (charged 200% council tax). Last year council tax contributions from second homeowners raised £6million, with a similar amount expected in 2026-27. 

“Our communities deserve visible, effective policing. We have worked hard, alongside local taxpayers, to increase officer numbers to their highest level ever. It is deeply concerning that we now appear to be punished for doing exactly what government asked of us.”

“Many families are already under immense financial pressure, and I do not believe it is fair for the only option to be to ask people to pay even more. I have always committed to our local taxpayers that if they pay more they get more. For the first time, I’m going to have to ask people to pay more to get the same or less.”