Rachel Reeves’s jobs tax will take police off the beat as cash-strapped forces face higher wage bills, bosses have warned.

Police and Crime Commissioners say they may be forced to cut staff numbers following the decision to hike up National Insurance contributions for employers. Police officer roles will not be lost but civilian staff will be affected, forcing officers to shift to administrative tasks.

There is also concern about the impact on vital services that work with police forces and are sometimes funded by them such as those providing support for victims.

The Treasury says it has provided police forces with a £1 billion funding boost designed partly to ensure that they are reimbursed for costs arising from changes to National Insurance announced in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget, but commissioners insist that the money they are receiving will not make up for the tax hike.

Tim Passmore, Police and Crime Commissioner for Suffolk, told the Sunday Express: “We are still going to have to make considerable savings. Actually the Treasury has not covered all the costs.

“It’s shocking but we’ll have to take it on the chin.

“We will have to find almost a quarter of a million pounds. The main burden will come on staff posts. What it means is that any vacancies that come up throughout the year, you will have to look at very carefully.

“You’ll end up putting police officers on jobs that should be done by civilians. More warranted officers will end up doing clerical work which is nonsense but we have no choice.”

He also said local organisations that receive funding from the police, such as an those supporting victims of domestic abuse, would face higher costs from both the National Insurance increase and the Government’s decision to increase the National Living Wage by 6.7% from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour.

Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott said: “The Government were not truthful when they said we would be fully compensated. We haven’t been. Combined with the pressure of the police pay rise, we have significant savings to find. Whilst we will protect the frontline as best we can, there will inevitably be a reduction in jobs within policing.”

Ben Adams, the police and fire commissioner for Staffordshire, said: “These National Insurance increases aren’t just hitting businesses. They are also hitting public services and they are going to be faced with very difficult decisions. There are going to have to be efficiencies.”

He said: “I am reasonably confident that we are not going to be into redundancies. But the actions we have seen in other forces, not filling vacancies, is something we will have to consider.”

Donna Jones, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said: “The government grant falls short of the totality of officer and staff National Insurance costs. It does not cover our overtime or allowances National Insurance estimate for the next financial year and therefore my budget will be £800,000 less than last year, which will ultimately have an impact on policing services.”

Leicestershire’s Police Commissioner Rupert Matthews said: “It is hugely disappointing that despite the Government’s contention that it would fund the increase in National Insurance in full, that is not the case. There is a £300,000 gap that will need to be paid for by money that should be invested in making Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland safer for its residents.”

Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne said: “While government has provided a grant of £5.5 million, this falls significantly short, leaving an unnecessary £700,000 funding gap for Sussex.” She is to increase the police precept added to council tax bills by £14, the maximum allowed, but despite this “a further £5 million will need to be identified to balance our budget”.

Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe said: “The police funding settlement received by forces does not live up to the Government’s assurances that the public sector would be fully compensated for the impact of the rise in National Insurance costs. For Warwickshire Police, the impact is an increase of around £2.1 million, yet the funding settlement only provides for an additional £1.8 million.

“This shortfall means the Chief Constable and I must identify new areas of savings to balance the books, rather than deploying that funding towards enhancing services.

“While I am confident that this will not mean any loss of officers or staff here in Warwickshire, I know this isn’t the case in other parts of the country.”