It is the Police and Crime Commissioner’s responsibility to set the level of council tax you pay towards policing, known as the precept.
This page provides more information on the Commissioner’s council tax survey on the amount that Surrey residents will pay towards policing from Surrey council tax between April 2025 and March 2026.
Q.) How much of my council tax goes towards policing in Surrey?
The cost of policing is just part of the council tax bill (or precept) you receive each year for local services.
Your bill will include charges for Surrey County Council (with an adult social care levy), your district council and possibly your local town and parish councils (if you have one), as well as the Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner.
On average, 14 per cent of your total council tax bill goes to pay for policing. In total, Surrey residents contribute 55 per cent of the total cost of the police through their council tax, with the remaining 45 per cent being provided by central Government as a grant.
Surrey Police receives the lowest level of Government grant in England.
Q.) How is the public consultation carried out? What happens when it is completed?
The Commissioner consults on the level of council tax that is set for the new financial year by holding in depth conversations with the Chief Constable and other senior leaders of Surrey Police, talking with key stakeholders and making a survey available to members of the public.
An online survey is used to gather the views of the public on options for the increase to the council tax in the coming year.
It also invites comments that are read by the Commissioner to inform the proposal that they are required to present to Surrey’s Police and Crime Panel budget meeting in February.
While the public survey is not a vote that directly decides the level of council tax set in the Commissioner’s proposal, your views are important as they provide an estimation of the support for different levels of council tax increase and provide feedback to Surrey Police and our office on the service that you expect from the Force.
Once the survey is complete, the Commissioner reviews all information to present a proposal for the Surrey Police and Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s budgets for the coming financial year.
Under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, Surrey’s Police & Crime Panel are asked to consider the proposal and make any recommendations.
If the Panel does not accept the proposed precept, it can be vetoed (declined) by a majority of two thirds of the Panel members present. If this happens, the Commissioner must produce a revised Precept Proposal and an additional meeting is held for the Panel to consider it. The Panel does not have a power to veto the revised Proposal.
The proposed amount of police precept from your council tax will then be included in your council tax bill for the financial year.
A council tax survey report and council tax leaflet are produced by our Office to provide the public with information on the survey outcomes, the Commissioner’s decision on council tax and how their money will be used by Surrey Police.
Q.) How much will people in different council tax bands pay depending on the PCC’s final decision?
The Government has determined that Police and Crime Commissioners can only increase their Band D Council Tax for policing by a maximum of £14 a year.
The table below sets out the maximum amount that you may have to pay for Policing in Surrey for 2025/26.
The final increase will depend on the Proposal that the Commissioner makes to the Police and Crime Panel in February:
Estimated annual council tax amounts for 2025/26 based on a £14 increase for an average Band D property (£1.16 a month):
| Band A | Band B | Band C | Band D | |
| Est. total | £225.04 | £262.55 | £300.06 | £337.57 |
| Est. increase from 2024/25 | £9.33 | £10.88 | £12.44 | £14.00 |
| Band E | Band F | Band G | Band H | |
| Est. total | £412.58 | £487.60 | £562.61 | £675.14 |
| Est. increase from 2024/25 | £17.11 | £20.22 | £23.33 | £28.00 |
Q.) What is the current Surrey Police officer establishment?
Surrey Police currently has more police officers than ever before thanks to your council tax contributions alongside the Government’s national uplift programme over the last four years.
As at 31 March 2024, government published data showed Surrey Police had 2,312 officers and 1,704 staff.
| 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | |
Police officers (as at 31 March) | 1,930 | 1,994 | 2,114 | 2,159 | 2,263 | 2,312 |
Q.) How much of my council tax goes to the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office?
In 2024/25 out of a total budget of £310m, the Police and Crime Commissioner retained £3.1m for her Governance and Commissioning responsibilities, with the remaining 99 per cent being passed on to Surrey Police.
More than half of the budget for the PCC’s office is used to provide funding to local services that promote community safety, help victims and reduce reoffending.
In 2024/25, we provided almost £6.8m to local services, of which £5.1m was secured from Government and £1.7m from the budget that paid for bespoke community safety projects and more support for the survivors of sexual violence, stalking and domestic abuse.
Q.) How much does the Police and Crime Commissioner get paid?
The PCC’s salary has been set by the Government at £73,300 pa. The Deputy Commissioner’s salary is set at 80 per cent of this, equal to £58,640 pa.
You can view the disclosable interests and expenses for the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner here.
Q.) How much money is Surrey Police saving?
In 2023/24, Surrey Police met its savings target of £1.6m, and has already exceeded its target of £3.8m for 2024/25. The Force needs to save in the region of £18m over the next four years depending on the level of Council Tax set.
However, in the last 12 years, the Force has made close to £80m in savings and is currently undergoing a transformation programme that is designed to ensure we provide the best possible value for money for the public.
Q.) What would happen if there was no increase in the precept?
It is the Commissioner’s responsibility to set a level of precept that is appropriate to support the service provided by your police.
As with other services, inflation is an important factor in how far the police budget goes towards paying for things like fuel and energy.
If inflation is high, it means the value of an item or service is likely to be above the usual amount of money that was previously set aside for that purpose. To put this into context, a 1 per cent increase in pay costs for the Force would be about £2.3m – equivalent to almost £5 on council tax.
It is possible to have a lower council tax, or even not increase it at all, but this would mean that more savings would be need to be found to pay for the increased costs of pay and inflation leading to, potentially, an adverse impact on services provided.
Surrey Police estimate that for every £1 reduction in council tax, 12 staff roles would either have to be lost or not replaced in order to balance the books.
These roles are that perform vital roles in areas such as contact and investigations, supporting their uniformed colleagues.
Furthermore, if the opportunity to increase council tax is not taken in the current year, it is not possible to “catch up” in the following year by having a larger increase.
This means that the impact of decisions taken now can have long term financial implications for the Force.
Q.) How much has Surrey Police got in reserves? Why can’t it be used to fund local policing?
Most organisations, companies and indeed individuals will try and hold some money in reserve – like a savings account – to deal with unexpected costs, emergencies and to save up for a big investment.
Surrey Police is no different, and as of March 31 2024, it holds approximately £39m in reserves, which is 12 per cent of the annual budget.
The total held is slightly less than the average for police forces nationally, and significantly lower than many borough and district councils who typically significantly more of their annual budget in reserve.
£27m of the total has been set aside for purposes such as the new HQ, insurance losses, ill-health retirements, innovation and so on.
The remaining £12m, equivalent to two weeks’ expenditure, is held as a general reserve.
This is used to meet unexpected costs arising from – say – a major incident, such as riots, a big investigation, or maybe a terrorist attack.
These incidents require large amounts of money to be spent quickly outside of the normal budget without any guarantee that these would be reimbursed by the Government later on.
Reserves may also be needed to temporarily balance the budget if the Force is not able to achieve the savings it needs to as quickly as it would like.
Of course, the Force could use its reserves on day-to-day spending to support a lower council tax increase, just as an individual can spend all their savings to meet rising costs.
However, like personal savings, reserves can only be spent once and therefore their use for this only delays the implementation of cuts that would be required to enable the budget to be balanced and financially sustainable for the future.
Q.) How can I find out more?
Please contact our office to learn more. If you don’t want to send a message, you can call us on 01483 630200.
Latest News
Would you be prepared to pay a little extra council tax to maintain policing improvements? Have your say!
Surrey Police has more than doubled its charge rate in the past year - and residents are being asked what they'd pay to maintain progress.
Commissioner and Deputy step into Christmas with festive design by seven-year-old from Reigate
A seven-year-old boy from Reigate has won this year's Christmas card competition with a lovely snowman design.
Commissioner joins officers on burglary patrol in Surrey Heath as hundreds of homes are visited
Lisa Townsend has joined officers on patrol in Surrey Heath after an increase in burglaries in the borough.