THE region’s police and crime commissioner said he hopes to have recouped the £10.5 million he is handing over as a ‘divorce settlement’ to Warwickshire Police within 18 months after dismissing claims council tax had been hiked to fund it.

West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner said his aspiration is for the millions, which have to be handed over to the force as part of the deal to terminate the alliance, to have been recouped by the end of 2021 and stressed any increase in police precept was to pay for more officers.

He also said it was wrong to suggest the precept had been ‘inflated’ to cover the cost of paying Warwickshire Police for terminating the alliance, when speaking to councillors during a police and crime panel meeting on Monday (June 15).

Asked by Telford and Wrekin councillor James Lavery how long it would be before West Mercia Police was in a better position, Mr Campion said: “My commitment to the public is that during this medium-term we will be better off and my aspiration is that within 18 months we will have recouped that settlement figure.

“Again, you [Cllr Lavery] will be the first to jump all over detail and until I have achieved it I cannot tell you whether I was right or not.”

Mr Campion said millions of pounds would be saved from scrapping the alliance with Warwickshire Police, but more savings would be made from ‘transformation’ projects which could not be carried out whilst West Mercia Police remained in the alliance.

Mr Campion said the process had been “complex” and trying to breakdown figures for “political point-scoring” was not doing communities any justice. Cllr Lavery said a ten per cent rise in the police’s precept whilst a £10.5 million settlement was “hanging in the background” was also not doing communities any justice.

Mr Campion said the force had already saved money since exiting the alliance in April and would continue to save money in the coming months and years.

“It’s very straightforward,” Mr Campion said.

"“I’ve got an agreed medium-term finance strategy and I will deliver that – which includes the uplift, which includes the predicted level of council tax – and then as part of that I have an efficiency programme which ensures West Mercia lives within its means.

“Therefore our intent is that we will be able to deliver more of the transformation within West Mercia that we have not been able to deliver within the alliance. Services to policing alone is worth at least £8 million a year."

“So from the enhanced benefits of being outside of the subsidy and indeed the constraints of the alliance will allow us to deliver that.

“In effect I will use our savings to be able to pay the settlement figure over the period we have negotiated and then I will use the medium-term to ensure we have recouped that money and then we can carry on enjoying the benefits in the future which is an annual reduction in the amount that we are using to support another force and then all the money we have got can support services in West Mercia.”