Funding of PCSOs
Statement on behalf of Shavington-cum-Gresty Parish Council.
This statement has been prepared because Members of the Parish Council are aware that an on-line petition has been started by residents to try to persuade the Council to increase the funding of PCSOs from one to two. Unfortunately, the meeting in January was the last opportunity to agree on a budget, as the precept request was required by Cheshire East Council on 12 January 2018. [The precept is the money requested from Cheshire East Council to fund the budget projects for the next year.] This means that there is no opportunity to change in the next fiscal year.
As part of its deliberations, the Council considered the results of the survey which was conducted in September 2017 to seek residents’ views about how many PCSOs should be funded. The response rate was disappointing as there were only 74 responses and this is less than 1% of the parish population; however, councillors still valued this feedback. The breakdown was 68% in favour of two PCSOs, 22% in support of one PCSO and 10% did not wish any funding to be allocated to the cost of PCSOs.
When councillors decided on what funding to allocate to PCSOs they considered multiple sets of data: the consultation; the monthly ‘beat’ reports from the current PCSOs on how much crime there has been within Shavington; and information from Superintendent Peter Crowcroft who attended the Parish Council meeting in January and provided additional details. At this meeting, it was confirmed that Cheshire Constabulary intended to allocate 0.5 of a PCSO to Shavington without the Parish Council allocating additional funding.
Although some residents are disappointed by the decision, the service to be offered is actually an enhancement of the current facility.
There are two PCSOs at present, and one-third of the total cost is met by Rope Parish Council with the remaining two-thirds being met by Shavington-cum-Gresty Parish Council. This equates to a service for Shavington of 1.3 PCSOs. In the new arrangement, Cheshire Constabulary is providing 0.5 of a PCSO to Shavington, alongside the Parish Council-funded PCSO. This results in a service that works out at an increase from 1.3 to 1.5 PCSOs for the parish.
The amount spent on PCSOs by the Parish Council is increasing by about 120% from £15,000 in the current financial year to £33,280 in next financial year.
During the next twelve months, the situation will be monitored, and if the Council considers that the new arrangement is insufficient, it will have the opportunity to fund additional PCSOs during the financial year 2019–2020.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact the Clerk on
