Police freeze council tax

Following ‘careful debate, public consultation and a detailed review of the budget for Sussex Police’ it was agreed that the Authority would take the one-off grant being offered by the government to freeze Council Tax for policing in Sussex.

This means that for policing Sussex, council tax payers will pay no more this year than they did last year.

Steve Waight, chairman of Sussex Police Authority, said: “I am pleased that as an Authority we have been able to agree that Council Tax payers in Sussex will not have to face a rise for policing the county.

“We have carefully considered the financial position that we are in and have looked at the consequences for future years and we are confident that we are in a good position to freeze the Council Tax without causing problems for the future.

“This is a significant year for policing as this is the last budget that we will set as a Police Authority.

“On 15 November this year an election will be held to appoint a Police and Crime Commissioner who will replace the Police Authority.

“We have therefore, as ever, thought carefully about the future implications of the budget that we set and what this means for the people of Sussex. “There were some mixed views over whether or not we should accept the government’s grant offer and was not a decision taken lightly, but I do believe it is the right one for Sussex.”