Nick Hurd MP, Minister of State for Policing, announced in the House of Commons, following a campaign led by Giles Watling MP, that Police and Crime Commissioners will be able to meet the needs of local areas as elected Police and Crime commissioners will be able to raise the precept contributions by up to £1 a month. Together, this will mean force budgets will increase by up to £450 million nationally, a welcomed boost of £8.8million across Essex.
Giles Watling MP said
I am absolutely delighted that the campaign I led has resulted in a multi-million pound investment across Essex Police that ultimately will see more bobbies on the beat on the streets of Essex. Together with fellow Essex MP’s, we urged government ministers to consider enabling police forces to remove the cap on police precept funding, without the need for a referendum, and that campaign has been successful.
Across Clacton residents have spoken to me about the concerns they have regarding police resources and today’s announcement will be welcome news to local residents. After campaigning heavily on this for the past few months, it’s been absolutely tremendous to get a positive result. The people of Clacton can look forward to a safer and more secure future.”