Council tax rise approved to boost police funds

A rise in council tax to pay for policing across Cambridgeshire has been backed, as the police and crime commissioner told a meeting "it's that or you lose police officers".

Cambridgeshire's Police and Crime Panel voted to support an increase of 4.99% to the policing element of council tax for 2026-27, at a meeting in Peterborough on Wednesday.

Commissioner Darryl Preston said it was his "statutory responsibility" to "provide the resources to the chief constable to run an effective and efficient police force".

Chief constable Simon Megicks told the panel that without the rise "I'd be staring down the barrel of [having to make] £6m worth of savings".

He said the money would allow him to maintain officer numbers, invest in technologies, and put him in a better position to deal with the "ill-defined challenges" of an uncertain future.

As a result, the policing precept for council tax for Band D properties is set to rise by almost £15, to £314.37 a year.

Preston, Conservative, told the panel: "I am requesting the maximum precept that I can in order that we have a balanced budget [and] in order that we don't lose police officers."

Police funding comes from two sources - just over half from central government and the rest from the policing part of council tax, known as the precept.

Preston said he believed "most people will be supportive of paying more for policing... as long as they get the service that they expect".

Megicks added that it was "fundamentally about balancing the books".

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