The levy on top of council tax to pay for Lancashire police is set to rise by £11.95 next year for a typical family semi-detached home.

The figure for a Band D property is revealed in papers to be considered by councillors on Wednesday.

The county's police and crime commissioner Andrew Snowden is proposing a a 4.75 per cent rise in his precept on Lancashire's council tax payers for 2024/25.

This will equate to around £9 a year for residents of the Band A and B homes that make up much of East Lancashire's housing stock.

His proposal - to be debated by Lancashire's Police and Crime Panel which oversees his work at Wednesday's meeting in Blackburn Town Hall - follows a maximum 6.34 per cent rise for 2023/24.

That added £15 to the yearly bill for owners of a typical Band D semi-detached family home and £10 to the annual bills of Band A terraced houses.

Last year's rise was equivalent to 29p a week for a Band D property and 19p per week for a Band A property.

Mr Snowden's proposal comes as local authorities are finalising their own council tax rises, with Blackburn with Darwen proposing to increase its charge by the maximum 4.99 per cent allowed without a public referendum.

His report says: "The panel is asked to consider the proposal to increase the council tax precept by £11.95 (4.75 per cent) for a Band D property in 2024/25.

"The government announced the Provisional Police Grant Settlement on December 14, 2023.

"Lancashire has been allocated police grant of £244.6 million, this compares to £239.937m in 2023/24, an increase of £4.663m.

"This increase is in addition to the permanent additional funding provided in 2023/24 of £8.399m to support the seven per cent pay award for police officers from September 2023.

"A separate specific grant of £13m has been provided linked to maintaining the delivery of the police officer uplift programme.

"In the provisional grant settlement, it was confirmed that police and crime commissioners could increase council tax for a Band D property by up to £13 in 2024/25 without the need to hold a referendum."

His proposed police budget identifies a funding shortfall for 2024/25 of £5.555m.

Mr Snowden's report says: "To meet the funding gap the commissioner proposes to increase council tax for a Band D property by £11.95 (4.75 per cent) providing additional income of £5.555m in 2024/25."

It also flags up spending increases including

  • £400,000 to target dangerous driving;
  • £1m to recruit an additional 20 officers for Neighbourhood Policing Teams across the county.
  • £450,000 to support the delivery of anti-social behaviour hotspot patrols;
  • £204,000 to pay for extra officers in the digital investigations team;
  • £185,000 for new economic crime investigators; and
  • £751,000 for investment in information technology.

His budget for 2024/25 also includes efficiency savings of £5.932m.