Surrey's Police and Crime Commissioner is asking residents whether they would be prepared to pay a bit more in Council Tax.

David Munro says the proposed 5.5% increase would help to boost policing numbers and support officers and staff in the county over the coming year.

The proposed rise, coupled with Surrey Police's next allocation of the 20,000 officers paid for by central government, would mean the force could take on an extra 150 officers and staff over the coming year.

In December the Home Office gave police and crime commissioners across the country the flexibility to increase the policing element of a Band D Council Tax bill by £15 a year, or an extra £1.25 a month – the equivalent of around 5.5% across all bands. The combination of last year's precept, together with the initial share of the national officer uplift, meant Surrey Police was able to take on 150 extra officers and staff during 2020/21. Mr Munro said he wants to add another 150 staff members during the next financial year, which starts in April. Government has provided ring-fenced funding for an extra 73 officers for Surrey for the second tranche of officers from the national uplift. Mr Munro's proposed 5.5% rise would allow the force to takes on an extra 10 officers and 67 staff. He said: "Residents across the county have consistently told me that they really value their police teams and would like to see more of them in our communities. "This remains a key priority for me, and after years of government cuts to our police service we have a real opportunity to continue the significant strides we have made in the last few years in recruiting those badly needed extra numbers to the Surrey Police frontline. "That is why I am proposing a 5.5% increase in the police element of council tax which would mean we could bolster officer and staff numbers in those crucial roles that are needed to increase visibility, improve our public contact and provide that essential operational support to our frontline officers. "It is always difficult to ask the public to pay more money, particularly in these troubled times. That is why it is really important to me, however, to get the views and opinions of the Surrey public, so I would ask everyone to take a minute to fill out our survey and let me know their thoughts." Have your say on the proposals here. The consultation will close at 9am on Friday, 5th February.