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Police budgets set to be capped | |
(about 8 hours later) | |
Five police authorities in England will have their budgets capped, the government is expected to say. | |
The authorities are likely to be Lincolnshire, Cheshire, Leicestershire, Cleveland and Warwickshire. | |
Lincolnshire police authority has the highest request. It has increased its stake of the council tax by 80%, adding an extra £2 a week to the average bill. | |
Ministers say the rises are excessive but the Local Government Association said capping made no sense. | |
Extra officers | Extra officers |
Council tax is shared between a number of bodies, including the council, police and fire services. | |
The five police authorities have increased their share or precept of the council tax. But the government has the power to cap police and fire authorities, as well as councils. | |
BBC local government correspondent John Andrew said it is expected the five authorities will be told on Thursday that their proposed increases are too high. | |
"All of them have rises well above 5%, which is deemed to be the limit," he said. | |
When Lincolnshire announced its rise - which amounts to an extra £60 million in their budget - the chief constable praised the police authority for being brave and ending years of under funding. | |
The authority said it would mean scores of extra police and community support officers. | The authority said it would mean scores of extra police and community support officers. |
The Local Government Association said capping would mean up to 40 councils would have to send out lower bills at huge cost. | |
A government spokesman said ministers would not hesitate to protect council tax payers from excessive increases. | A government spokesman said ministers would not hesitate to protect council tax payers from excessive increases. |
The authorities affected will have three weeks to lobby ministers before a final decision is taken. | The authorities affected will have three weeks to lobby ministers before a final decision is taken. |