HAVE your say on how much money the public should pay for policing in Cheshire.

John Dwyer, the police and crime commissioner for Cheshire, has called on the public to give their views on how much extra they would be prepared to pay for the constabulary’s services.

Mr Dwyer said: "We now know that the Government’s commitment depends upon commissioners, including myself, increasing our share of the council tax by two per cent from April 2016.

"In Cheshire’s case, a two per cent increase would equate to a 6p per week increase in council tax for a B and D property in order to enable existing policing services to be maintained.

"Otherwise, we will have to make cuts in police budgets for next year."

Policing authorities across the country have been given the option by the Government to increase the police precept up to £5 a year.

This would result in a 3.2 per cent increase in council tax, which equates to 10p per week for a B and D property.

Mr Dwyer added: "This additional 4p per week investment would enable me to increase spending on frontline police services in the next financial year.

“I have committed to using any increase in funding to increase the numbers of police officers on our streets and to enhance the Constabulary’s ability to protect neighbourhoods from harm.

“I now want to know the public’s views on the options available to me as the Commissioner for Cheshire."

An online survey will run until January 14.

This outlines the options available to police bosses including fixing the council tax at the current rate and cutting police budgets by £1.1m annually leading to a reduction in the number of frontline police officers.

A 6p per week increase in council tax for a band D property of two per cent would maintain today’s spending on police services and protect the current number of police officers.

A 10p per week increase in council tax for a band D property of 3.2 per cent would see an increase of £1.8m to the police budget, all of which would be spent on extra police officers.

To take part in the consultation visit cheshire-pcc.gov.uk/Home.aspx.