Families are set to pay more for policing when their tax bill goes up in April – and budget plans include recruiting more staff to handle calls and record crimes.

Staffordshire Police is also aiming to increase its officer numbers by 375 in the coming years, from 1,567 in March 2019 to 1,942 by March 2023.

The force is looking to save £2.1m by 2026 too. But Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Ben Adams said this funding gap had come down from £5m and savings were possible through measures such as sharing buildings with other organisations, sharing back office costs with Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service and more efficient use of IT.

On Monday (January 31) he presented the police budget for 2022/23 and Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) to the county's Police, Fire and Crime Panel. It is his first budget since he was elected to the post in May.

Panel members approved the proposals, which will see the policing precept paid as part of the annual council tax bill go up by 4.19%. This means Band D households will pay an extra £10 a year for policing – equivalent to a 19p rise each week – and their police precept will go up to £248.57 for the year.

Mr Adams said: "I am acutely aware that household budgets are tight, so I expect every pound of taxpayer's money invested in policing to be spent wisely and for Staffordshire Police to continually seek efficiencies. Due to careful financial planning and central government support Staffordshire Police has not seen an impact on its core funding due to Covid 19, but the financial impact of the pandemic on public services, business and taxpayers, will be felt for years to come.

"I have worked with Staffordshire Police to address future years' budget gaps, present a four-year budget and to find the financial headroom to invest in emerging areas of public concern, which this year have included an increase of 15 staff into call handling, to improve the response time to public contact via 999 and 101; an increase in IT staff, to ensure that Staffordshire Police continue to keep pace in this fast-moving environment; (and )an increase of five staff into crime recording, so victims of crime receive a faster referral into specialist support services.

"Crucially this MTFS will allow us to take full advantage of the continuing investment in additional police officers."

Panel member Keith Walker questioned the tax rise.

He asked: "Can you explain the rationale for going for the maximum precept increase when it appears that the force is in a better position than was forecast last year or the year before?

"It's had a better Government funding decision and with the increase in council tax base the force seems to be far better off than it was last year. Why go for the maximum increase rather than 2.99%?"

Mr Adams responded: "Thank goodness the Government settlement is better, the council tax contribution is better. That's not just more people able to pay than we'd assumed as a result of the pandemic, but also more properties.

"I've fundamentally taken the decision because the organisation has a certain amount of money to save over four or five years. I don't believe today they are ready to do that.

"I think there are investments and decisions that need to be made – not least investments in capacity of the type of people needed for transformation. It's also very clear to me that we have some service areas for improvement and I want them to improve straight away. I don't want to wait one or two years for them to improve.

"They require people – we've heard that the vast majority of the budget is around people – and we've got more people coming. There's quite an overhead in training and getting those people embedded in the organisation. It takes a good two years.

"I don't think the public would thank me at this point if I saved a pound or two on the household budget but they didn't see the improvements that they're asking for as quickly as they might. So I took that decision that we look to invest the money that was needed early rather than later on.

"I feel we will be saving by investing now. Essentially the decision was perhaps between 3% and 4%, perhaps between £8 and £10. I think the £2 extra for delivery in the next few months is going to seem the right thing when we look back."