A POLICE and Crime Commissioner has warned that council tax will increase to make up for insufficient government funding.

Lancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner, Clive Grunshaw said that any increase in funding will be as a result of the Police and Crime Commissioners raising Council Tax by the 'highest amount they possibly can'.

This comes following Policing Minister Nick Hurd's announcement, made on Tuesday, that next year's funding allocation from central government to Lancashire's police would stay at around £190m, the same as last year.

Clive Grunshaw, Lancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner said: "I welcome any new money which comes into policing to help keep people safe.

"However this announcement fails to deliver any new money from Government directly towards policing here in Lancashire.

"The Government need to be clear, based on their announcement today, any increase in local funding is completely reliant on Police and Crime Commissioners raising Council Tax by the highest amount we possibly can.

"With inflation at its highest for years and increasing pressures on a service which has seen Lancashire lose 800 officers and more than 400 police staff.

"The Government knows this means Commissioners will need to raise council tax to even maintain the service residents need and deserve.

"After years of disingenuously claiming to be protecting police budgets, when forces like Lancashire have received less and less, the Government now expects local council tax payers to bail them out.

"This announcement doesn't come close to addressing the issues faced by Lancashire police after cutting too far and too fast for the last seven years."