FAQ - Budget and Council Tax 2025/26

A budget for a policing body is a financial plan that outlines how a police force will allocate its resources over a specific period, typically a financial year but also, in our case in Sussex, over a 4-year period. It encompasses all the funds necessary to operate the police functions, support to victims of crime, community safety, governance and national policing requirements to achieve its objectives.

Here's a breakdown of what this entails:  

Key Components:

• Personnel Costs:
• This is the largest portion of a police budget, covering salaries, benefits, training and pensions for officers and civilian staff.
• Operational Expenses:
• This includes costs related to:
• Patrol vehicles (fuel, maintenance, etc.)
• Equipment (firearms, protective gear, technology)
• Facilities (police stations, maintenance)
• Investigations (forensic services, evidence storage)  
• Technology and Infrastructure:
• Investments in:
• Computer systems
• Communication networks
• Surveillance technology
• Data analysis tools
• Training:
• Funding for officer training, including:
• Basic recruit training
• In-service training
• Specialised training (e.g., public order, firearms)

Funding Sources:

• The Sussex Police budgets is funded through a combination of:
• Government grants  
• The local council tax – known as the precept 
• Other revenue sources (e.g., recharge of services, proceeds of crime)

Budgetary Oversight:

• Policing budgets are subject to oversight by:
• The Chief Finance Officers
• The Police and Crime Commissioner
• Chief Police Officers
• The public
• Government oversight boards

The budget for the medium term can be seen below:

It is an element of your Council Tax which is raised for specific services, such as policing, local councils and Fire & Rescue authorities.

A £14 precept uplift is essential so that Sussex Police can meet the increased costs of inflation, pay and preserve the improvements in capacity, visibility and accessibility built up since 2018, and to maintain the police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).

The precept needs to be increased for several reasons, primarily to address financial pressures and maintain current policing levels.

Key factors that necessitate the precept increase:

• Maintaining Investment: The PCC and the public want to maintain the investment that has been made to date in police officers, police staff, PCSOs, and smart systems and capabilities.
• Operational Capacity: The precept increase of £14 for 2025/26 is critical for Sussex Police to maintain the progress that has been made to date, sustaining the operational capacity that has been built. It allows them to make the most of their data and technology to deliver better value for money and outcomes for the public.
• Effective Operating Model: The increase will ensure they can retain an effective operating model, keeping new recruits on the frontline attending more calls, more swiftly, and getting more positive outcomes for victims.
• Rising Crime: Crime is continuing to grow, and the processes involved in dealing with crime are becoming more complex.
• Cost Pressures: The level of cost increase from inflation and other cost changes is £32.2m. When set against a £27m grant and precept increase, this requires the use of other resources and cost reductions to balance the budget.
• Inflation: Sussex Police has been affected by growth in inflation, which has impacted both pay and non-pay costs for the force and will continue to do so.
• Financial Sustainability: Savings of £5.0m are required in 2025/26 after the use of reserves to balance the budget, and £19.4m in the following three years.
• Budget Shortfall: Even with a £14 increase in the precept and the use of other resources, including earmarked reserves and underspend from 2024/25, there is still a need to make £5.0m of savings to balance the budget for 2025/26.

The following schedule sets out the level of police precept within Band D council tax in Sussex since 2023/24.

Year         Band D Council      £             Change %
                   Tax Change      

2025/26         £266.91         £14.00           5.5%

2024/25         £252.91         £13.00           5.4%

2023/24        £239.91          £15.00           6.7%

The council tax precept for Sussex was one of the lowest - 31 out of 37 – of English policing bodies during 2024/25 at £252.91 per annum for a Band D property. The table shows the range of precepts by policing body in England. The median was £274.50.

**THIS IS ONLY THE PCC ELEMENT**

This graph will be updated once all PCCs/Mayors have approved their council tax precepts for 2025/26.

In 2025/26 each £1 of precept will raise £664,000.

The precept raises £177m (42% of total income), the Home Office contributes £243m (58%).

Your total council tax bill depends on several factors: the borough or district you live in, the council tax band of your dwelling and how many people live in the property.

In addition, you may be eligible for a discount: for example, if you are the only adult in the household you can obtain a discount. (Contact your local council for more information if you think you may be eligible for a discount or exemption.)

The standard tax payable for Sussex Police by council tax band are as follows for 2025/26:

A core responsibility of PCCs is to listen to the public and ensure the concerns and priorities of local communities are articulated and taken into consideration in the formulation and refresh of the Police and Crime Plan and in setting the police budget.

Local authorities, fire authorities, and Police and Crime Commissioners are required to determine whether the amount of council tax they plan to raise is ‘excessive’. The Secretary of State sets thresholds of excessiveness, known as ‘referendum principles’, for different classes of authority. Any authority proposing an excessive increase in council tax must hold a local referendum and obtain a ‘yes’ vote before implementing the increase.

In the case of PCCs the threshold for 2025/26 is £14.

Sussex is one of the lowest council tax precepts in England – 31 out of 37 – so the £14 increase calculates to a higher percentage than say Surrey which has the highest precept.

The percentage increase is higher than the other services quoted on your bill, but it is less in £’s – unfortunately the council tax bill does not include this important information and only includes the percentage. The PCC increased the policing precept by £14 (5.5%) equates to £1.17 a month for a Band D property.

The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 places a duty to consult with residents within Sussex on the proposals of the PCC for expenditure (including capital expenditure) and the precept in that financial year.

A core responsibility of PCCs is to listen to the public and ensure the concerns and priorities of local communities are articulated and taken into consideration in the formulation and refresh of the Police and Crime Plan and in setting the police budget.

The PCC will take into account any compelling investment proposals from the Chief Constable and any clear requirements to maintain public safety along with feedback from surveys and public confidence when determining the precept.

Under Schedule 5 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, the PCC must report her decision to the Police & Crime Panel which is asked to consider the proposed precept and make recommendations.

If the Panel does not accept the proposed precept, the power of veto is provided under this Schedule. The power of veto can only be exercised with a two thirds majority, at least, of the current Panel membership, voting in favour of a veto.

In the event of a veto, the Commissioner must produce a revised precept and an additional meeting is convened for the Panel to meet to consider this revised precept and make reports to the Commissioner. The Panel does not have the power of veto over the revised precept.

The Police & Crime Commissioner received a majority support from the Sussex Police & Crime Panel members at their meeting on 31 January 2025 to increase the police precept by an extra £14 per year, per household (for an average band D property). You can find the report and webcast of the meeting on their webcast archive. 

The OPCC re-commissioned a professional polling company to conduct a demographically representative survey of over 2,524 residents.

The question set was based on an Office for National Statistics (ONS) format and included questions about experiences of crime, satisfaction with police; perceptions of crime, confidence and where people got their news about crime and policing as well as awareness of and access to PCC-funded services for crime victims.

2,524 residents completed the survey (372) more than last year with a confidence interval of ±1.95. A Confidence Interval of ±1.95 means that had we been able to survey every resident of Sussex, the answer to a given question would fall within ±1.95 percentage points of our actual research result (in either direction) on 95 occasions out of 100 (the Confidence Level).

The survey was conducted ahead of the announcement of the provisional policing grant settlement and asked whether people would be prepared to pay either £1.75, £1.25, or £0.83 extra per household per month in the precept element of council tax.

Support for a precept increase: 

• 57% of council taxpayers who completed the survey supported an increase:
• 26% in favour of an extra £1.75 per month for an average Band D property and
• 16% in favour of an extra £1.25 per month for an average Band D property.

You can see the results of our engagement and public survey at the links below:

• Precept Consultation Results
• Engagement Summary Analysis

The Police Funding Formula divides up how much money each policing body receives from the overall central government funds. It considers several factors to assess demand in each area.

The Home Office’s proposed changes to the funding formula are under review now.

Reserves are held for four main purposes:

• A working balance to help cushion the impact of uneven cash flows and avoids unnecessary temporary borrowing – this forms part of general reserves.
• Funds to cushion the impact of unexpected events or emergencies. This also forms part of general reserves.
• Funds for the purposes of managing risk e.g. insurance reserve.
• A means of building up funds, often referred to as earmarked reserves, to meet known or predicted requirements such as to meet savings requirements in the following year or to enable spend to save; earmarked reserves are accounted for separately but remain legally part of the reserves.

The PCC has a reserves policy that sets out the use of each reserve and the financial report provides the detail of the value and their use. You can find out more on our Financials page.

The PCC recognises that any increase in taxation at any level will be challenging for some of our residents and it is therefore not a decision that she takes lightly.

Please contact your local council who will be able to review your council tax liability and check to see if you can obtain a discount, exemption or other reduction to your bill. They can also direct you to independent advice.

Sussex Police do not retain money raised directly from fines, e.g. speeding/parking fines/Fixed Penalty Notices to subsidise the police.

Gatwick Airport pays Sussex Police for the policing services provided under a Police Services Agreement which is reviewed regularly.

Yes, and Sussex Police can recover some of the costs of policing large public events via a nationally agreed methodology.

The PCC is paid an annual salary of £88,600.

Details of expenses and other information can be found on our website under Financials. 

The cost of running the PCC’s office in 2025/26 is budgeted at £1.9m which includes salaries, audit, banking, communications and other costs. The total policing budget for 2025/26 will be £421.980 m. The office budget is therefore 0.45% of that budget.

The PCC's Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) covers the period of four financial years from 2025/26 to 2028/29.

It provides options for delivering a sustainable revenue budget and capital investment over the medium term. It also sets out how the PCC can provide the Chief Constable with the resources to deliver the priorities in the Police & Crime Plan 2024/25 to 2027/28; support the mission, vision and values of Sussex Police and meet the requirements of the Strategic Policing Requirement.

For more information please see the Policing Budget page.

Please see the links at the top of this page.

Further information is available on the Financials page.

References in the table are to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 unless otherwise stated.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evidence-to-the-ssrb-2025-to-2026-police-and-crime-commissioners/home-office-evidence-to-the-senior-salaries-review-body-police-and-crime-commissioners-accessible#:~:text=38.,pay%20awards%20between%20formal%20reviews

Strategic planning

Holding to account

Hold the chief constable to account for:

Partnership working

People

Information and engagement

Finance

If you like detail, then head over to our page here https://www.sussex-pcc.gov.uk/about/financials/expenditure-over-500/ where we publish certain payments over £500. We exclude items of a confidential nature related to individuals (pay) or certain police operations.

Once a year we also open our accounts for public inspection. When this opportunity is available it will be published on the website here https://www.sussex-pcc.gov.uk/about/financials/accounts/