Council tax rise necessary to fund policing in 2026/27, says TVP

The 2026/27 local policing budget for Thames Valley was laid out today (January 23) – with increased funding from council tax necessary amid budgetary pressures, the PCC says.

The budget for Thames Valley Police (TVP) will be £622million, with almost half of that provided by council taxpayers.

There will be an increase of £15 a year in Council Tax (for a Band D property), which amounts to 29p per week.

Matthew Barber, Police & Crime Commissioner, acknowledged this may not be popular, saying he is ‘acutely aware’ of the financial pressures that households are under - and once again blamed Government funding decisions.

“Setting the policing budget remains a complex process of balancing priorities – and this budget has been particularly difficult,” Mr Barber said.

“Last month, the Government announced the police funding settlement which for Thames Valley Police was £9million less than expected.

“The funding from central Government barely covers the costs of inflation and pay increases.

“In a further announcement just days before setting the budget, the Home Office made clear that they would only fund around 40 per cent of the cost of new officers.”

This will impact the health of the force’s finances in the long term, he said – and puts more pressure on local taxpayers.

TVP continues to make efficiency improvements, with £15million of savings delivered over the last year and a further £16million of savings planned over the coming four years.

But even with this, the council tax increase is considered necessary to ensure the force can maintain policing levels.

As for what changes are to come policing-wise, the force will deliver 53 more neighbourhood police officers this coming year, in addition to the 218 extra officers delivered in the last three.

There will be a launch of a dedicated Roads Policing Unit Tasking Team, which will work to make roads safer by ‘bearing down on dangerous and illegal drivers.’

To pin down residents’ priorities, TVP ran an ongoing survey for over a year, from January 4, 2025, until January 2, 2026. More than 4,800 residents responded.

Participants were asked, ‘If council tax increases, which areas would you most like to see your contribution used for?’

With residents selecting multiple options, the most popular choice was neighbourhood policing – ie, bobbies on the beat – with more than 3,000 people choosing this.

Over 2,400 people picked crime prevention – ie work at community level to support local efforts to reduce neighbourhood crimes.

About the same number picked tackling drug offences, and addressing road safety, while about 2,300 picked improving police response times, and improving the quality of police investigations.

Another 2,200 votes went to protecting women and girls, and slightly fewer votes were placed for tackling serious and organised crime.

Next most voted for were business crime, including shoplifting, which got over 2,000 votes, then votes for improvements to make it easier to report crime.

About the same number (1,900) went to tackling fraud and online crime, while more than 1,800 people said they wanted to see good use of modern technology in policing.

Next in order were: rural crime (1,700), counterterrorism, better equipment and training for police volunteers (both over 1,600), hate crime (1,500) and improving police buildings and equipment (1,400).

On the budget, TVP’s Chief Constable Jason Hogg said: “The council tax precept provides essential additional funding at a time when national police funding remains challenging.

“However, this investment is not guaranteed, and policing continues to face significant cost pressures and difficult choices as we work to balance our budget responsibly.”

The budget was presented to Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel today (January 23) prior to being finalised.

The panel acknowledged that Mr Barber had been informed that he could put in a request to go above the extra £15 per year for the council tax precept - but he opted not to.

Given TVP's financial pressures, panel's task and finish group recommended accepting the proposed police precept increase 'due to the limited alternatives available.'

Cllr Stuart Wilson of Buckinghamshire Council (IMPACT Alliance, Flackwell Heath & The Wooburns), member of the group, said:

"We did have some discussion... about what we considered to be reasonable. It would be fair to say there were some different views - my own position on this is, I do not see an alternative."

For further information about the PCC’s Police and Crime Plan or finances, visit www.thamesvalley-pcc.gov.uk.