THE policing part of the council tax precept for Swindon and Wiltshire residents is to increase by 1.9 per cent.

Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson yesterday decided to raise the precept by £3.17 per year – or 6p a week – for the average band D property.

It follows a month-long consultation in which Mr Macpherson sought to galvanise public support for the increase. In the end, it was backed by the vast majority of those consulted.

It means that the rate for the police and crime element of council tax for an average band D property in Swindon and Wiltshire will be £170.27, up from £167.10 for 2016-17.

The increase will provide the commissioner with an additional £790,000 of local income for 2017-18.

However, with an £814,000 cut in Government funding, Mr Macpherson says he is left with a standstill budget for the year ahead.

Mr Macpherson said: “I carried out an extensive consultation because I don’t take decisions like this lightly.

"I carried out four live online Q&A sessions via Facebook and Twitter as well as setting out my proposals in a range of media interviews. I attended a number of meetings to answer questions.

“Of the hundreds of responses I received from the public, 66 per cent supported the increase. This was backed up by my specific Twitter poll where 68 per cent of respondents also supported the increase.

“The consultation demonstrated that the public are in favour of the increase to help maintain local community policing.

“I am pleased that the Police and Crime Panel have recognised the strength of the case, and have endorsed the increase in the police part of council tax.

“During meetings with our area’s MPs before seeing the minister, it was clear that they were supportive of our case.”

The increase, unanimously supported by the Police and Crime Panel at Monkton Park in Chippenham yesterday, will help to protect community policing.

The role of the PCP is to hold the commissioner to account on behalf of the residents of Wiltshire and Swindon and it has the power to veto the commissioner’s proposals regarding the amount of money he raises directly from residents.

Chair of the Police and Crime Panel, councillor Richard Britton, said: “Members of the panel are very aware of residents’ concerns about preserving local policing during a time when police financing is under pressure.

"Members felt that by supporting this modest increase we were recognising and addressing those concerns.

“Despite this increase in local funding Wiltshire Police still faces the need to find savings of over £2m in 2017/18 in order to balance the books.”

Mr Macpherson added: “This decision will leave me with a funding gap of £3.719m in 2017-18. This year I intend using reserves of £1.439m to close the gap to £2.280m. The Chief Constable is currently producing a plan to identify efficiencies and savings to enable a balanced budget.”