Commissioner brings budget survey to residents in Chester

On Friday 7th January, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire John Dwyer held a public consultation event in Chester to talk to people about his ‘Your Police Budget 2022/23’ survey

The Commissioner held a stall outside Tesco’s in Chester to speak to residents about the police budget, which proposes an extra 120 officers for the county alongside 63 extra frontline support staff, including in the call centre. There will also be an increased focus on road safety and tackling anti-social behaviour.

To support the budget, the Commissioner asked residents if they would be willing to pay approximately 83p extra per month via their council tax – You can have your say online too at:

www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/yourpolicebudget2022-23

John Dwyer, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire said: “It’s vital for me to hear from the public about their priorities and how they want their police service to be funded in order to deliver them.

“I know that the cost of living is an issue for people and that view was expressed in my Autumn Survey last year, which received nearly 19,000 responses. In the same survey, people indicated they were willing to pay more via their local council tax. That’s why I’m keen to stress that this proposed increase is below the current rate of inflation, but will also enable the Constabulary to deliver what people want, including the highest number of officers Cheshire has ever had on its current boundaries.”

“I want to thank everyone who took the time out of their day to speak to me and share their views. I will collate the feedback and present my final recommendation to the Police and Crime Panel towards the end of this month.”

The Commissioner has the responsibility of consulting with the public on the policing precept part of council tax, which pays for the service provided by Cheshire Constabulary. In the 2021/22 financial year, over 40% of Cheshire’s police budget came from council tax.

The proposed 83p per month increase is for the average Band D property. You can give your feedback online here:

www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/yourpolicebudget2022-23 .

On Tuesday 11 January 2022 the online event for residents who live in Cheshire West and Chester will take place between 7pm – 8.30pm. To register, send your name, question and postcode to opccmediadesk@cheshire.police.uk by 11:59pm on Monday 10 January 2022.

Pictured - Police and Crime Commissioner John Dwyer at the consultation event in Chester.