Police officials united on maximum council tax precept increase to protect public

Derbyshire PCC Nicolle Ndiweni Roberts and Derbyshire Chief Constable Rachel Swann. Credit: BBC LDR Jon Cooper.

By Jon Cooper – Local Democracy Reporting Service

Derbyshire Constabulary’s Chief Constable and the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner showed a united front as they justified a maximum council tax rate increase by blaming unprecedented financial demands, limited funding and the need to balance a budget while providing safety for residents.

Chief Constable Rachel Swann and Police and Crime Commissioner Nicolle Ndiweni-Roberts sat shoulder-to-shoulder at a Police and Crime Panel meeting at County Hall, in Matlock, on January 21, in defence of the commissioner’s proposal to increase the force’s council tax precept for the 2026-27 financial year which, for a Band D property, will increase by 5.11per cent to £308.60.

Councillors on the panel from across the region voted to approve the commissioner’s 2026-27 budget plans including the proposal to introduce a £15 annual increase, or £1.25 per month, in the policing precept for a Band D property which the Chief Constable and the Crime Commissioner have argued is essential to balance the budget and avoid deeper cuts that would harm the service.

Ms Ndiweni-Roberts told the meeting: “This is the maximum permitted under Government rules and it is the minimum required to avoid deep or damaging cuts to services that residents rely on.”

She added that the force needs to ensure it has the resources to keep people safe and that without the council tax increase this would pose an unsustainable funding gap.

Ms Ndiweni-Roberts also said that the increased police funding grant is not enough to cover inflation and pay costs as the force faces unprecedented financial pressures.

She explained costs have increased and continued savings will be needed in the future after the force is already expecting to have accumulated £25m of savings between 2023 and March, 2027, with £5.6m of required savings identified in this year alongside plans for the loss of 80 police staff to balance the budget.

Ms Ndiweni-Roberts said: “These are not choices any one of us have wanted to make but they have become the last resort to balance our books.”

The force has endured an overwhelming year with as many as eight homicide investigations in eight weeks while dealing with the pressure placed on resources of managing a growing number of organised protests, according to Chief Con Swann, with as many as 72 relating to issues such asylum seeker accommodation, use of flags, standing up to racism and animal rights.

Ms Ndiweni-Roberts added: “We have had to do things differently. Find solutions swiftly and do all we can with the resources we have. I would like to acknowledge the hard work of my team and the Chief Constable in managing pressures and doing their best to deliver for Derbyshire. Their commitment is unwavering.”

The majority of residents who took part in a budget consultation, amounting to just shy of 73 per cent of respondents, supported an increase of £1.25 a month for a Band D property to protect policing which Ms Ndiweni-Roberts said was evidence of the public placing its trust in the force to use their hard-earned money to deliver safety and continue to help bring offenders to justice.

She also pointed out that in the public sector the force is not alone in trying to manage difficult budgets while Derbyshire County Council has recently announced plans to introduce an on-going 4.99per cent increase to council tax between the three financial years of 2026-27 to 2030-31.

Ms Ndiweni-Roberts told the panel: “My role continues until May, 2028, and I look forward to working with you to make sure Derbyshire is a safe place to live, work, study and visit.”

Chief Con Swann told the meeting that Derbyshire police is here for the public and to serve the public and to provide the best service with the money available and that every day she is proud of the work and tireless efforts of her staff, force, employees and volunteers.

She said: “This is my sixth year as Chief Constable. When I came here I talked a lot about precept increases to give us some excess. That is no longer the case. The precept increase only helps us fill the deficit and the deficit still remains.”

Chief Con Swann highlighted increasing pressure upon the force from inflation and increasing and mounting pay rates with a requirement to maintain police officer numbers along with plans to continue to increase the number of police officers, PCSOs and special constables while claiming that by comparison with other forces the region is underfunded.

She said that to present a balanced budget some difficult choices have had to be made and the force will have to continue to revise and find savings where it can in the future.

Chief Con Swann said: “We continue to run a savings programme and we do this annually because I think it is incumbent on me to be as efficient and effective as possible and present value for money.”

The force has been looking at making savings through technological and AI advances and out of 1,500 current police staff the force is overseeing the loss of 80 posts and, according to the Chief Constable, 22 people are being put at risk of redundancy but it is hoped alternate posts may be found for them should they wish to remain with the police.

Ms Ndiweni-Roberts has said that without the police council tax precept increase, the number of job roles at risk would unfortunately have been significantly greater.

Chief Con Swann explained that Derbyshire Constabulary has invested in supporting its control room due to increasing demand and it has increased the speed of its response times for 101 and 999 calls.

She added that the force is continuing to prioritise neighbourhood policing and addressing anti-social behaviour, tackling serious violence including violence against women and girls, and it is addressing drug problems while bringing offenders to justice and supporting victims.

Chief Con Swann echoed that the force had to deal with eight homicide investigations across eight weeks during 2025 when it ordinarily may face 12 homicides over a whole year.

She explained that these offences were unrelated and diverse in nature and they had an accumulative effect in testing the force’s resilience.

Chief Con Swann said: “The accumulative effect of that was the activation of Operation Recharge where we looked at all the roles and functions and took officers out of training skills and putting people in frontline roles and sourced extra cars so we weren’t creating massive backlogs and were being responsible to the public.”

She added that staff had extended shifts and there were cancellations of rest days which all went towards managing the demand in the continued relentless pursuit of justice for the victims of homicide.

Chief Con Swann stressed the force is continuing with work to protect the vulnerable including women and girls, addressing rape and sexual abuse and neighbourhood policing while continuing to lead the way in terms of its digital services and she highlighted the roll-out of a new custody suite in Dunston and the replacement of a police station in Killamarsh.

She said: “There is more to do to improve. There is always more to do to improve and we are committed to carrying on that work and we have a strong platform.”

Ms Ndiweni-Roberts has also said crime fell by five per cent with 4,773 less recorded crimes in 2024-25 compared with 2023-24 and she welcomed progress such as the call handling improvements and a 24 per cent reduction in anti-social behaviour in hotspot areas.

The force’s budget 2026-27 proposals show a Net Revenue Budget Requirement of £254,329,023, representing a 4.5per cent increase in net expenditure over 2025/26.

While the Government has provided a £166.5m grant, the loss of a £1.7m one‑off additional grant for the 2025-26 pay award, means the increase in Government support reduces to £3.8m so a remaining required £106.4m is expected to come from the police council tax precept.

Derbyshire’s Police and Crime Panel gave the Crime Commissioner’s budget plans for 2026–27 full and final approval, noting both the financial challenges facing the force and the strong public support for paying more to protect policing.

The Police and Crime Panel formally approved the police’s revenue budget requirement of £254,329,023 for 2026-27, noted the Operational Funding and Investment Reserve will be reinstated by £209,000, supported an identified budget savings requirement of £5.6m, and it also supported the decision that no reserves are to be used to set the budget.

It also supported the Crime Commissioner’s proposed council tax precept increase for the 2026-27 financial year which, for a Band D property, will increase by 5.11per cent to £308.60 which works out as an increase of £15 annually, or £1.25 per month.

The panel also noted the force’s Medium-Term Financial Forecast indicates future budget deficits beyond 2026-27 and that reserves alone will not be sufficient to close a future funding gap and it recognised that the force will need to identify further efficiencies and savings both for reinvestment in priority areas but also to help achieve a balanced budget.

Derbyshire County Cllr Carol Hart said she was worried the force’s funding grant had decreased and that council tax is having to be relied upon more and more and that this can only happen for so long.

Bolsover District Cllr Clive Moesby said: “I do think Derbyshire police do a good job and I do find people do not complain to me much about what they do and I do find neighbourhood policing has improved dramatically.

“All in all, [the police are] doing a good job. I will be supporting that £15. We need to balance the budget and we cannot afford not to do it.”

Chesterfield Borough Cllr Steve Lismore told Chief Con Swann and Ms Roberts: “I will definitely be supporting the maximum increase being proposed and indeed wish it could have been more because I recognise the job you do.”

Following the meeting, Chief Con Swann said: “It’s a point I like to reiterate that my staff run towards danger and they run towards danger for those who support them and always for those who criticise them and I hope that is a point that resonates with the public.”