THE Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire has warned of a £4.3m funding gap within years.

Julia Mulligan has urged the public to have their say on setting the amount tax payers contribute to policing in North Yorkshire through Council Tax.

Three options for the police precept are available - either freezing the precept, which would mean a cut to the police budget, increasing the precept by 1.99 per cent, or by more than 1.99 per cent.

Increasing the precept by 1.99 per cent would cost an average of £4.40 per year for a Band D property, and raise £1.3m next year and going forward, while proposing to increase the precept by more than 1.99 per cent would call for a public vote which would cost more than £700,000.

Mrs Mulligan said: "Despite many challenges, I am pleased to say that that North Yorkshire remained the safest place to live and work in England throughout 2017. Meanwhile, policing is continuing to evolve in North Yorkshire as it responds to the changing nature of crime and demands, including a greater focus on protecting and caring for vulnerable people.

"This coupled with reductions in funding from central government and our increasing costs, mean we will still need to save £3 million for the year. This would rise to £4.3 million if the precept was frozen. All of these factors have to be taken into account as well as your views, so before I set the precept, it’s important that you tell me what you think, so please complete my survey before the end of January"

A survey on the options is available online at telljulia.com and paper copies are on display at police stations, libraries and council offices across North Yorkshire.