Police volunteers could quit if tax rebate lost, council warned

The 104 Special Constables in D Division – who put 34,589 unpaid hours into front-line policing in the city between January and November 14 – face losing their 50 per cent council tax rebate under plans being considered by the cash-strapped city council.

The proposal, which will be considered by the council’s cabinet next Monday, comes less than two years after the specials’ £1,500 annual “bounty” was withdrawn and may make some consider their positions, the force said. Removing the discount would save the council between £12,000 and £15,000 a year.

A report by Brendan Arnold, the council’s head of corporate planning and finance, said the withdrawal of the bounty by Humberside Police Authority did not affect recruitment of specials and the loss of the rebate may not either.

The report said: “Humberside Police have advised they have seen little change in the number of special constables since the cessation of their discretionary payment. This therefore suggests that the financial issue is not a significant factor in someone deciding to become a special constable.”

It continues: “Given the lack of evidence that the allowance either encourages or discourages the public to become special constables and the financial pressures facing the council, members could cease the special constables council tax allowance on 31st March 2012 as the current trend would indicate there would be no corresponding drop in special constable numbers.”

The report concludes: “As the Humberside Police Authority has now ceased their payment scheme with little impact on numbers it would seem appropriate for Hull City Council to make a similar decision.”

However, both the force and serving specials suggest otherwise.

A spokeswoman for Humberside Police said: “We are aware that this is up for discussion by the cabinet next week and we watch with interest to see the outcome.

“If the allowance is stopped it will not necessarily impact on the recruitment of special constables to the force but it may have an impact on the retention of specials already volunteering and in receipt of the allowance.”

But she added: “It is difficult to quantify the impact of the loss of allowances on the retention of special constables because they are not required to tell the force why they are leaving and may choose not to reveal if the loss of any allowances has influenced their decision.”

Special Inspector Julie Fenton, who works in D Division (Hull), said: “I think it would be a real shame if the council withdraws the council tax refund that is currently paid to Special Constables who live within Hull City Council’s boundary.

“The loss of the bounty in April 2010 caused low morale within the specials and meant some people could not afford to come to ‘work’, as the bounty paid expenses such as child care to cover the unsociable hours we work. This caused a significant decrease in the number of hours worked by some constables.

“Whilst I appreciate the council tax refund is a ‘nice to have’, and I know that specials within other areas of Humberside, such as the East Riding, don’t receive it, I still see it as a huge blow, and one that almost makes you feel undervalued.”

Insp Fenton said if the savings were calculated against the number of hours worked it would mean the council was contributing about 38p for every hour worked.

“It seems such a small amount given the contribution we put in, the number of offenders we bring to justice and the communities we help to protect,” she said. “A sad, sad sign of the times.”

The scheme cost the council a total of £12,113 in the last financial year.

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