Taxpayers to pay more for police services

Residents in the county face a 2.5 per cent rise on the police element of the council tax, following a Police Authority meeting in Wakefield yesterday where chiefs set a 438.6m budget for West Yorkshire in the year ahead.

For a Band D household, this means shelling out an extra six pence a week for policing, and pushes the total bill for the police part of the tax to 130.50 per year.

The budget was agreed to ensure money is available for ongoing recruitment of new officers, continued investment in neighbourhood policing and the strengthening of protective services locally and regionally.

Last night, Coun Mark Burns-Williamson, Chair of the West Yorkshire Police Authority, said: "To ensure that costs remain low, over the next year the Authority is looking to make savings of around 10m.

"This is through workforce modernisation, reductions in the Force's running costs, and cutting back on using external consultancy on projects.

"However, we are already looking with the Force at where savings and efficiencies can be made in future years which will we already know will be even more challenging."