HAMPSHIRE'S police authority was meeting today to decide whether to defy the government and impose an inflation-busting council tax increase or cut spending on community grants, uniforms and maintenance.

Members were being recommended to agree a 5.5 per cent increase which would mean residents in an average Band D property paying £114.30 - a rise of just under £6 on last year's bill of £108.36. But they have accused the government of bullying them into imposing a low increase that will mean slashing budgets.

Panel member and county councillor Phil Heath said the authority should stand up to the government and set a council tax level that would improve the service rather that cut back on budgets.

He said: "If we asked the public if they were willing to spend more on policing then they would. We have all the arguments we can show what more money would pay for.

"We are being bullied, and I don't like being bullied."

Councillor Adrian Collett said: "History has shown that the public is willing to pay for a quality police service."

Steve Price, chairman of the Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said Hampshire people were undoubtedly getting value for money from the force.

He said: "The key to it is putting our resources where the public want to see it. It is extremely important we meet the demands of the public and what they think will make the most difference to their community.

"The difficulty we have is that more officers time is being taken up with compiling performance reports. The reality is that most of what we do cannot be measured and it is a great shame that there is an obsession with providing a table or report to justify how officers spend their time."

At the same meeting today members also look likely to approve a three per cent increase in their allowances. It will mean the money given to the chairman of the authority Simon Hayes will go up from £21,352 to £21,992.

An average member's allowance will rise from £9,076 to £9,348. The increases are index linked to the cost of living for the average police support staff worker and are automatically increased every year.