Council tax policing element to increase by 7.47% — an extra £26.95 a year for the average Band D household

POLICE and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn has confirmed the Dyfed-Powys Police precept for 2026/27 following a meeting of the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Panel on Friday (Jan 23).

The precept — the portion of council tax that helps fund local policing — will rise by 7.47%, increasing the average Band D bill by £26.95 a year, or around £2.25 a month.

After several months of scrutiny, the Police and Crime Panel unanimously supported the Commissioner’s proposal. Members of the panel praised the “open and transparent” way the precept process was handled.

The increase will raise a total precept of £93.033m, supporting an overall budget requirement of £161.905m.

In setting the precept, Mr Llywelyn said he had weighed inflation and cost pressures, demand on services, reserve levels, future investment needs, efficiency plans and feedback from residents across the Dyfed-Powys area.

He said the agreed funding would support targeted investment in policing, with a focus on strengthening Local Policing Teams and prevention work.

The Commissioner said funding would support additional neighbourhood officers to increase visible patrols and strengthen local relationships, extra response officers to improve response times, enhanced early intervention work with young people through partnership working with schools, families and youth services, and investment in innovation to improve services to victims and streamline processes so officers can spend more time on frontline duties.

“I recognise the pressure that any increase in the police precept places on households,” Mr Llywelyn said. “However, this decision is about protecting frontline policing and investing in the services that matter most to our communities.

“Residents have been clear that they want to see more officers locally, faster response times and a greater focus on prevention. This investment delivers exactly that.”

He added: “While the financial and operational environment remains challenging, this level of funding provides the stability needed to focus on delivery and on the priorities set out in my Police and Crime Plan.

“I would like to thank everyone who took the time to share their views through the consultation, as well as members of the Police and Crime Panel for their continued scrutiny and support.”

Councillor Keith Evans, vice-chair of the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Panel, who chaired the meeting, said: “I am very pleased with the outcome of the precept meeting and want to take the time to thank panel members and the finance sub-group for their diligence in reaching their decision, which has come after many meetings of scrutiny.

“I wish to note the open and transparent manner the Commissioner and his office responded to the sub-group’s request for information. I would also like to express my gratitude to the panel’s secretariat team for their usual cooperation and support.”

POLICING OVERHAUL COULD CUT 43 FORCES TO FEWER REGIONAL UNITS

MAJOR plans to reorganise policing in England and Wales could be “complex to deliver”, expensive and risk weakening the link between officers and the communities they serve, a national policing body has warned.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to set out the biggest overhaul of policing in decades on Monday, with ministers arguing the current set-up of forty-three separate forces is wasteful and leaves some areas without the capacity to respond to serious incidents.

Under the proposals, the overall number of forces would be reduced, with larger regional forces expected to take the lead on serious and organised crime and complex investigations such as homicide.

At neighbourhood level, each town, city and borough would be organised into a “local policing area”, with officers focused on crimes such as shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) said regional mergers would be time-consuming and costly, and warned the disruption could “derail” the wider ambition of reforms.

PCCs Matthew Scott and Clare Moody said: “The public want neighbourhood policing. There is no evidence to suggest the public would welcome bigger forces and in terms of public accountability, it also risks creating a separation between police forces and the local communities they serve.

“It makes responding to local policing and crime needs more difficult and removes the link between local taxpayers and the police they increasingly directly fund through the policing precept.”

They added that any long-term savings from larger force areas “could be outweighed by very significant set-up costs”, and questioned the assumption that bigger forces automatically perform better.

Government sources have argued that the current model leads to duplication, with forces paying separately for headquarters and administrative functions that could be merged to free up funds for frontline policing.

Ministers also believe restructuring would help reduce differences in performance between forces, with smaller organisations sometimes lacking specialist resources when major incidents occur.

A Government source said the aim was to ensure all forces had the tools and capacity needed to tackle serious crime, adding: “Where you live will no longer determine the outcomes you get from your force.”

The reforms are expected to take years to implement, with reports suggesting force mergers would not be completed until the mid-2030s. The number and boundaries of any new forces are expected to be decided by an independent review.

Similar proposals have been attempted before. In March 2006, then home secretary Charles Clarke announced plans to reduce the number of forces to twenty-four, but the idea was dropped within months after opposition from senior officers and a proposed merger between Lancashire and Cumbria collapsed.

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said there was “no evidence” that larger forces would cut crime or improve performance, warning that a reorganisation could centralise control and leave smaller communities worse off.

The Police Federation of England and Wales said fewer forces did not guarantee stronger neighbourhood policing, but welcomed the Home Secretary’s willingness to consider difficult decisions.

A spokesperson said: “Policing’s current structure has entrenched a postcode lottery in what the public see but also how officers are led, supported and treated.

“Fewer forces doesn’t guarantee more or better policing for communities. Skills, capabilities and equipment need significant investment if the public and officers are going to see reform deliver in the real world.”

Ministers have already announced plans to scrap police and crime commissioners in 2028, with responsibilities expected to move to mayors and council leaders, with the Government saying the change would save at least £100 million to help fund neighbourhood policing.

A MAN from Swansea has been given a suspended prison sentence and placed under a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order after changing his plea to guilty at the last minute.

Luke Pearce was sentenced on Friday (Jan 23) to sixteen months’ imprisonment, suspended for eighteen months.

The court also imposed a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and Pearce will be subject to sex offender registration requirements for ten years.

As part of the sentence, Pearce was ordered to complete a twelve-month mental health treatment requirement, along with twenty days of rehabilitation activity.

The Herald understands Pearce was arrested in August 2024. He initially pleaded not guilty and a trial was arranged, but he later changed his plea to guilty shortly before the trial was due to take place.

The case was followed closely by Herald team members involved in researching the background to the proceedings and tracking the court process.

Further details of the offence and the court’s reasoning for the sentence were not available at the time of publication.