Background
- Ahead of developing his new police and crime plan, the West Mercia Safer Communities Plan, the PCC carried out community engagement and took information from existing surveys and correspondence to understand the top priorities and concerns of residents. These findings were used to inform the budget priorities.
- The further budget consultation ran from 23rd December to 16th January, focused specifically on the draft precept and budget proposals. A precept proposal, the Proposed Budget 2025/26 and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2025/26– 2029/30 were all published as part of the consultation process, along with a short online survey to enable people to comment on the proposals being put forward.
- In total, 497 responses were provided to the budget consultation survey
Publicity and media coverage
- Due to the timing of the funding settlement from central government and issues under consideration for the budget this year it was necessary to conduct consultation across the Christmas period. The consultation was open for the longest period possible, between funding announcements and the requirement to present proposals and findings to the police and crime panel.
- A range of communication tools were used to promote the survey consultation to communities across West Mercia. These included:
- Social media: Press releases and consultation links were shared via the West Mercia PCC Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn pages for the survey on launch and throughout.
- All social media platforms are monitored and where appropriate comments on the precept have been responded to, however the ‘instant’ nature of this media means it is not practical to include them in this report.
- Press release/media: A number of press releases were issued for the survey. Regularly issued PCC Newsletters highlighted that the survey was open, and encouraged people to take part during the period each was open. This was covered by a number of different media outlets. The PCC also took part in a radio interview with BBC Hereford & Worcester.
- The Neighbourhood Matters platform also saw the consultation promoted directly to thousands of residents on launch.
- Findings
- Set out below are the findings from consultation activity to inform the budget and precept setting.
Budget Consultation Survey
- A short online survey was launched to enable people to comment on the draft budget proposals put forward by the Commissioner. The online survey asked up to three questions specifically around the precept and included one open question enabling respondents to comment on their reasons for either supporting or opposing the proposals.
Demographics
- A total of 497 responses were received. A breakdown of respondents by council tax area is shown below[1].
31% (134) South Worcestershire
23% (99) Shropshire
24% (100) North Worcestershire
14% (58) Herefordshire
8% (35) Telford and Wrekin
- A number of additional demographic questions were asked as part of this survey to further understand those who are engaging with the PCC.
- Around 60% of respondents were male, 30% were female, 9% preferred not to say and 1% said other.
- 69% of respondents were aged 61 to 80, 17%, aged 46 to 60, 6% between 31 and 45, 2% between 18 and 30, 9% preferred not to say and the remaining 7% were aged 80+.
- The majority (89%) of respondents were White/English/British/Other, 10% preferred not to say with the remaining 1% split between Mixed Ethnic Background, Asian/Asian British and Other Ethnic Group.
Consultation findings
- The survey asked whether respondents would be willing to pay, on average, £14 (5.05%) more for policing per year based on a band D property. The majority of respondents, 61%, supported this proposed increase, whilst the remaining 39% did not.
- Those that showed support to the first question were asked if they were willing to pay more than £14 (5.05%) for policing per year based on a band D property. Again, around 63% responded yes. The remaining 37% said no.
- Those that agreed to pay more than £14 per year account for 35% of total respondents.
- Those that showed support to the first question were asked if they were willing to pay more than £14 (5.05%) for policing per year based on a band D property. Again, around 63% responded yes. The remaining 37% said no.
- When asked if they had any further comments, 347 respondents chose to respond. A summary of all the comments is shown below, grouped by common theme or concern. It should be noted that a number of the comments referred to more than one theme and that there is a degree of subjectivity in the interpretation of each comment.
Main Themes
- The main themes arising from the comments were:
- Police visibility –a number of respondents raised concerns about a perceived lack of police presence in rural areas and town centres. There was strong emphasis that an increase in council tax should have a direct association with increasing police presence.
- Government responsibility/financial concerns – respondents raised a number of financial concerns, including the need for more central government responsibility to funding policing costs. Many were concerned and anxious about being unable to afford an increase due to general increase in cost of living. The size and cost of the PCC office was also raised.
- Resource allocation and Efficiency – respondents commented with an increase of council tax there is a need for improved police efficiency as a rationale for the rise to demonstrate value for money. Respondents wanted West Mercia to have the right tools to carry out effective policing, and to focus on key areas of concern such as anti-social behaviour, road safety, police station functionality, increased partnership working and being victim focused.
- General support – a number of those supporting the proposals left a general positive comment whilst others supported the increase in funding alongside conditions such as measurable outcomes or a focus on priority areas.
- Miscellaneous comments – a number of respondents both for and against the proposals left a comment which does not directly fit into the above themes.
Commissioner’s response to the comments received
- Within the surveys a number of people chose to comment on the proposals. The comments have been grouped into themes, based on the predominant message in each comment. A response to each of the main themes is shown below.
- Police visibility – I have, as I promised, taken the views of the public to shape this budget proposal.
- My West Mercia Safer Communities Plan commits to delivering on the public’s priorities to increase police visibility and accessibility in their communities. I have already delivered on my promise to increase police officer numbers.
- I am committed to working with the Chief Constable to deliver improvements around visibility, accessibility, community engagement and access to police officers and services. I am maintaining my commitment to maximise frontline resources. In response to this, and as part of the budget setting, the force will be restructuring the existing operational policing model to ensure it is delivering a quality service for communities.
- I will also continue to invest in resources and technology to deliver improvements with public contact – mainly in the form of the emergency and non-emergency lines. People need to be able to access their police service when they need help, so technology will be used to increase accessibility with new facilities such as a call back and online chat.
- I am committed to working with the Chief Constable to deliver improvements around visibility, accessibility, community engagement and access to police officers and services. I am maintaining my commitment to maximise frontline resources. In response to this, and as part of the budget setting, the force will be restructuring the existing operational policing model to ensure it is delivering a quality service for communities.
- Although I am reassured by the work West Mercia Police is already doing to improve their service, I acknowledge that more can always be done to improve. I want to ensure that through my budget, public confidence and trust in the police force continues to increase.
- Government responsibility/financial concerns – My mission for the communities of West Mercia remains unchanged, despite the financial challenges the nation continues to face. I remain concerned about the lack of additional funding to cover the full cost of inflation, demand on policing and government priorities.
- This year, my priority is to deliver progress against my West Mercia Safer Communities Plan. Within this four-year plan I have identified four key pillars, which set out clear commitments that have been created on behalf of communities based on their concerns and top priorities. I am therefore resolute in delivering them, with those living in West Mercia feeling the benefits.
- Overall crime has fallen by 9% and more people are being arrested than ever before in West Mercia. I am determined to support and challenge the Chief Constable to ensure this grows even further. Crime continues to change and therefore so does demand.
- Resource allocation and Efficiency – In challenging financial times, it is even more important that we are maximising resources and getting value for money.
- My challenge to the Chief Constable will continue to be around maximising effectiveness and delivering digital transformation where possible to enhance efficiency.
- Whilst recorded crime has fallen across West Mercia, the full extent of that reduction is not necessarily felt within communities.
- To support the delivery of my plan, this year’s budget will focus on building safer towns and businesses, reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads, tackling drugs, continuing working in partnership with local authorities to deliver the Safer Communities projects and supporting the criminal justice system to ensure those that commit crime are held accountable.
- Through this work and more that will be done, I will continue to support the force prioritising the greatest possible proportion of resource towards frontline policing and ultimately, delivering the best for communities.
Please note that response totals may vary across questions due to instances of nonresponse as not all participants answered every question.
The themes in this section need to reflect the themes in the above section
