This engagement is now closed
Residents across the West Midlands are being invited to have their say on how much investment they want to see in their local police force as the Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, launches his annual budget community engagement.
The PCC is responsible for setting the budget for West Midlands Police, which receives 80% of its funding from a central government grant, whilst 20% is funded via local council tax.
The community engagement, which opens today, provides the public with an opportunity to share their views on policing priorities and the level of funding needed to keep communities safe and secure.
Each year, the PCC must set the police budget and council tax precept, balancing the need to invest in neighbourhood policing, preventing and tackling crime and victim support, with the pressures facing households during the ongoing cost of living challenges.
It is important to understand that West Midlands Police is already significantly structurally under-resourced and under-funded. In the West Midlands, by April 2026, we expect to still have 520 fewer police officers and 500 fewer PCSOs than we had in 2010.
This is not even allowing for population growth, which means we should actually have a further 640 police officers more than in 2010. So, we are 1,160 police officers down on where we need to be, to return us to 2010 levels.
However, the vast majority of other police forces in the country now have as many police officers as they had in 2010, if not more police officers, than they have ever had in their force histories. That is deeply unfair to the people of the West Midlands.
In addition to that, the funding formula used to distribute police funding nationally also leaves the force £43 million short every year. As a region, we continue to be short changed and ripped off, when it comes to the allocation of police resources, the PCC said. In 2026/27, the force is facing a budget shortfall of £41.1 million.
The draft settlement has removed £198 million from UK Policing, with no announcement or explanation. It has also reallocated monies away from West Midlands Police, which we received in order to support officer numbers clawed back painfully during the last few years of so-called “uplift”.
The PCC said this has added in total a £14.1 million further pressure to the financial plans he had in place, and had been working on for months, following the assurance he thought he could place in the Comprehensive Spending Review, as a well-managed and financially stable Force.
The government has given the Police and Crime Commissioner the ability to raise the police part of council tax by £1.25 per month or £15.00 a year, for a typical band D property. However, most properties in the West Midlands are in bands A and B and the cost increase for them, would be even lower – working out at £10.00 per year for a Band A and £11.67 per year for a Band B.
The Commissioner is now asking people living and working in the region, to provide their view, on what level of investment in policing, they would like to see made.
If the Commissioner increases the police part of council tax by £1.25 per month, then many of the rising policing costs next year can be met and that funding, will be invested directly towards retaining police officers and police staff and preventing and tackling crime to keep people, families, businesses and communities safe and secure, despite the WMP budget remaining under significant pressure.
However, without that increase in the police part of council tax, WMP would be forced to change the way it delivers vital services. That would inevitably, have an adverse impact on police presence and visibility, response times, investigations and the ability of WMP, to prevent and tackle crime.
The West Midlands Police Council Tax is currently one of the lowest in the country at £229.50 per year for a Band D property and this increase will take it to £244.50.
By comparison, the Band D Council Tax per annum for Policing in local Forces for this year, before any increase, is as follows:
Warwickshire Police £303.71 per year
Staffordshire Police £287.57 per year
West Mercia Police £291.50 per year
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, said: “We aim to have a police service that polices by consent. That is because policing works best, when it reflects the priorities of the communities it serves. This public engagement survey, provides residents with a direct voice in shaping, how their local police service is funded.
“We know people are under pressure, and any decisions about funding must be taken carefully, thoughtfully and transparently. At the same time, we must ensure the police have the resources they need to tackle crime, protect the public and support victims.
“I would encourage residents, businesses and community groups across the West Midlands, to take part and share their views.”.
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