THE Government was today expected to announce that it will pay North Yorkshire Police the long-awaited £900,000 which the force has been out of pocket after handling the Selby rail crash.

The anticipated announcement comes just a day after members of the county's police authority approved an increase in the police precept - the part of council tax bills which funds policing. Band D properties - the average - will see their bills rise from £62.59 to £88.59 for 2002/2003.

The precept increase will allow the North Yorkshire force to maintain its record number of officers - 1,425 by the end of March - and plough £1 million into pension reserves and £1.1 million into general reserves, which have been drained by mounting pension costs and major incidents, primarily the Selby rail crash.

The Evening Press has repeatedly highlighted the desperate need for the force to be reimbursed its costs for the crash, which happened almost a year ago, and last week the paper successfully urged Home Secretary David Blunkett to pursue the matter.

Selby MP John Grogan has tabled a written Parliamentary question to Local Government minister Nick Raynsford, which was due to be answered today. It asks Mr Raynsford to make a statement on the policing costs of the crash.

Mr Grogan said: "I am very hopeful indeed that all the pressure that has been put on, not least by the Evening Press, will mean that we are going to get some good news today."

Auditors have told the authority it should have at least £1.7 million in reserve for major incidents, which is where the cash is expected to go.

The authority held a series of eight public meetings across York and North Yorkshire to gauge opinions on the proposed rise in the precept.

The overwhelming response from people was that they were willing to pay more if it was the only way to maintain officer numbers at their current record level.

Updated: 08:43 Tuesday, February 05, 2002