Hampshire police and crime commissioner Donna Jones has been praised in the House of Commons by home secretary Suella Braverman for making good use of police funding flexibility.

The comments came in oral questions to the home secretary on February 6. Ms Braverman said: “I am very pleased the excellent police and crime commissioner in Hampshire, Donna Jones, has made very good use of the funding flexibility that I brought into force very recently by raising the precept.”

The home secretary went on to mention the safer streets funding Ms Jones has used in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight, together with the work of her new violence reduction unit, stating her budget plan “will mean more police, less crime and safer streets in Hampshire”.

The comments come after the government announced the police finance settlement in the autumn of 2022 which provided £246.9million to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Panel then supported Ms Jones’ proposal to increase the council tax for Band D properties by £15 to fund 50 more police officers in addition to the 600 she is already committed to in her police and crime plan.

Ms Jones said: “Increasing police numbers and improving police visibility have been my top priorities since being elected in May 2021.

“I have ensured, and will continue to ensure, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight gets the best funding deals from the Home Office to invest in crime prevention initiatives which make streets safer, in addition to my ultimate goal of increasing police numbers.

“The public want more police on their streets, and as commissioner I will continue to get the best funding deals available to be able to provide that for residents.”

Ms Jones’ police budget for 2023-24 is £426.8 million – a £16.9m increase.