THE cost of policing in Lancashire is set to rise by between £10 and £15 a year for most householders in East Lancashire.

The county's police and crime commissioner Andrew Snowden has confirmed he intends to raise his levy on council tax bills by the maximum 6.34 per cent from April 1.

The would add £15 to the bill for owners of a typical Band D semi-detached family home and £10 to the annual bills of Band A terraced houses common across East Lancashire for 2023/24..

Conservative politician Mr Snowden has confirmed his proposal for the police 'precept' on council tax bills in the papers for next week's meeting of the Police and Crime Panel which oversees his work.

He also revealed the force recruited 203 police officers in 2022/23.

Confirmation of the rise comes as Blackburn with Darwen Council's Labour leader Cllr Phil Riley and his Conservative opposition counterpart Cllr John Slater clashed at the borough's Council Forum over the authority's plans to increase its council tax by the full permitted 4.99 per cent for 2023/24.

The rise would add £56 a year to the bill for a Band A terraced house and £84 a year to the cost for a Band D family home from April 1.

Conservative-controlled Lancashire County Council - which provides key services including children's and adult social care to 12 boroughs including Hyndburn, Ribble Valley, Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale - is also set for a 4.99 per cent increase.

Mr Snowden report to the panel meeting on Wednesday says: "The government has been clear that it expects every Police and Crime Commissioner to increase their council tax precept by £15 to help meet the extraordinary pressures placed upon budgets by significant increases in costs. This increase would realise an additional £7.150million in 2023/24.

"The Commissioner proposes to increase council tax for a Band D property by £15 (6.34 per cent) providing additional income of £7.150m in 2023/24 and to draw down a contribution from reserves of £3.917m."

At Thursday's Blackburn with Darwen Council Forum meeting Cllr Slater accused the borough's Labour political bosses of falsely claiming the government was forcing a 4.99 per cent council tax rise on them when it was their political choice.

Cllr Riley responded by saying the government's local government settlement assumed those council's like Blackburn with Darwen and Lancashire County which had responsibility for children's service and adult social care would impose the maximum 4.99 per cent increase.

He accused ministers of seeking to transfer the cost of their failure to solve the adult social care crisis onto local authority council tax bills.