A council tax rise “bombshell” is hidden in the Chancellor’s police funding plans, it has been claimed.
Rachel Reeves said Britain’s police forces would see their "spending power" rise by 2.3% a year, as she laid out her proposals for public services budgets in Wednesday’s Spending Review.
But the increase assumes hiking the policing council tax precept in order to fund it, Treasury documents suggest.
In London, an average Band D household currently pays £319.13 a year to help fund the Met – up £14 from 2024.
Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokeswoman Lisa Smart said: “The government is relying on a hidden council tax bombshell to fund their half-hearted rise in police funding as they pass the buck to local families.
“After frontline policing was neglected for years under the Conservatives, local communities deserve better than this sleight of hand.
“The Government must put more bobbies on the beat, with the proper funding to make it happen."
The Home Office was among the biggest losers in the Chancellor’s spending proposals with budgets to be cut by 1.4 per cent a year.
It triggered the fears that increases in police funding will have to come from tax rises.
It comes as police leaders warned the projected £1.2bn shortfall in force funding will continue to grow, likely resulting in further cuts.
Key policing figures in England and Wales painted a bleak picture after Ms Reeves outlined plans for an average 2.3% rise in police spending.
Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley had been among those publicly lobbying the Chancellor for more money.
Ahead of the Spending Review, he warned that without more investment the government will fail to meet its target to bring down crime.
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said on Wednesday: “I remain concerned that this Spending Review could result in insufficient funding for the Met and fewer police officers.”
Chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council Gavin Stephens said: "It is clear that this is an incredibly challenging outcome for policing.
"In real terms, today's increase in funding will cover little more than annual inflationary pay increases for officers and staff.
"Whilst we await further detail on allocation to individual forces, the amount falls far short of what is required to fund the Government's ambitions and maintain our existing workforce.
"A decade of under-investment has left police forces selling buildings, borrowing money and raising local taxes to maintain what we already have, with forces facing a projected shortfall of £1.2 billion over the next two years, which is now expected to rise.
"This is against a backdrop of increasing crime rates, with new and escalating threats from organised crime and hostile states, and more offenders being managed in the community as a result of an overstretched criminal justice system.
"Cutting crime isn't just about officer numbers, we need specialist skills and people, supported with the right systems and technology, to better protect communities.
"We fully support the government's drive to cut crime and grow officer numbers, but for these to succeed, investment in policing must live up to the ambition."
Acting national chairwoman of the Police Federation, Tiff Lynch, accused the Chancellor of failing to listen to police officers or the Home Secretary in the lead up to the review.
She said: "This Spending Review should have been a turning point after 15 years of austerity that has left policing, and police officers, broken.
"Instead, the cuts will continue and it's the public who will pay the price.
"As rank-and-file officers kit up for night duty this evening, they'll do so knowing exactly where they stand in the Government's priorities.”
The Police Federation claims that police pay has fallen by more than 20% in real terms since 2010, while the number of crimes allocated to each officer has risen by a third.
Policing is taking the brunt of cuts while other budgets increase.
The Chancellor pledged a £29 billion boost to the NHS to reduce waiting lists and modernise services.
While billions of pounds were handed to regional infrastructure projects and for social housing, while it was confirmed that defence spending would increase by £11 billion.
