Deputy Mayor Calls for More Funding for Yorkshire Coast Police and Fire Services

A consultation has been launched on how much we should pay for Police and Fire services next year with the Deputy Mayor saying an increase in the Council Tax precept is required.

Coastal fire and police services will need additional funding next year according to Jo Coles, York and North Yorkshire’s deputy mayor for policing, fire and crime, and residents are being encouraged to give their views on upcoming precept changes.

Appointed by elected mayor David Skaith in June 2024, her role includes ensuring that the county’s fire and police services have adequate funding while, alongside Mr Skaith, deciding how much residents should pay for those services.

A public consultation has been launched to gather the views of locals on the precept for 2025-26 which will be the amount that goes to North Yorkshire Police and, separately, to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service from council tax bills.

Jo Coles said:

“It’s about getting the balance right between what the public say they are prepared to pay and what service we know that we need to maintain a level of public safety,”

“underinvestment in policing and fire especially over recent years”.

In an interview with the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the deputy mayor said that responses to the consultation – open until January 20 – would be a “really important factor” in deciding the precept charges.

The Government has set a national limit allowing an increase of up to £14 in policing precepts for an average Band D property but no cap has been set for for the fire and rescue service, which according to the mayor’s office, needs at least £5 million more than last year to maintain current service levels.

It said that an annual Band D increase of up to £15 a year would allow current services to be maintained and for the fire service to “make some improvements”.

The deputy mayor said:

“With fire, the precept was frozen for three years 2012-15 which has left a £20m hole in the budget which we haven’t been able to make up, so the fire budget in particular is something we are looking at addressing,”

Asked whether she had a personal limit in terms of increasing the precept that she did not want to go above, Jo Coles highlighted the “significant underinvestment in fire” and the importance of “meeting the needs of the fire service and North Yorkshire residents”.

She noted the “changing environmental challenges, a really big geographical region, vulnerable populations in different places, and having to make sure we can meet all those needs”.

Speakign about the Police service the deputy mayor said that alongside neighbourhood policing, early intervention and prevention were big priorities for her and mayor David Skaith.

This will be aimed at youth work as well developing drug and alcohol support services.

She told the LDRS: 

“The police are looking at finding the right balance between neighbourhood policing teams in the places where we know we have the most crime but balancing that with the geography of the region.

“It means looking at areas such as Scarborough where we do sometimes have some of the higher levels of crime and antisocial behaviour and making sure we have a policing response and a neighbourhood policing team in place that can meet those needs.”

Jo Coles added:

“I’ve actually been out with the neighbourhood policing team in Scarborough and they do an amazing job in the town centre in particular trying to tackle some of those really difficult problems that I know will cause real concern to residents around antisocial behaviour.”

The Deputy Mayor added that one of the biggest issues facing the fire services on the coast

“is that fire isn’t currently funded for flooding and the environmental challenges that we have increasingly seen,”

“coastal erosion and pressures that you get from the sea, that isn’t something that is currently reflected in the budget."

When asked about the future level of fire services in terms of engines and staff in Scarborough, Jo Coles said that while “risk and resourcing decisions are made operationally by the chief fire office” the operating model “always prioritises public safety”.

She added:

“We’ve had underinvestment in policing and fire, especially over recent years, but it is really important that the public have a say before we make any final decisions.”

David Skaith, mayor of York and North Yorkshire said:

“Balancing the budgets against rising costs and underinvestment, especially in our fire service, has led to challenging times.

“Asking for more investment to develop and maintain our services is never a task taken lightly.

“It is vital that I hear your views before I make any decision, so please take a few minutes and go to YourPoliceAndFire.com and tell me what you think.”

The precept consultation can be accessed online here: https://www.northyorkshire-pfcc.gov.uk/how-can-we-help/your-say/consultations/2025-26-precept/