PCCs urged to act on officer pay
5 November 2021
Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) must do all they can to ensure funds are available to give police officers the significant pay rise they deserve.
That is the view of Tim Rogers, interim secretary at West Midlands Police Federation, who was speaking after the Chancellor confirmed the public sector pay freeze would be lifted.
“On the face of it, this is really good news for police officers and other public sector workers,” says Tim, “But the sceptical part of me questions what this will actually mean.
“Police officers’ pay deal is considered by the Police Remuneration Review Body, a supposedly independent body which considers submissions from various interested parties and then makes a recommendation on any uplift to the Government.
“But there are two crucial factors that we should not forget. The review body is given a remit by the Government and this year it was told not to consider putting forward a pay rise. Maybe next year the Government will say that it can only consider a pay increase of up to four per cent. But also we must remember that the Government can reject any recommendations put before it.
“I think we also have to make sure that Police and Crime Commissioners get behind police officers. They too must do their bit to make sure officers are given a significant pay rise next year, one that reflects their role in society, the work they did in the pandemic and the fact that with the rising cost of living they are in danger of once again having a real terms pay cut if there is not a proper uplift.”
Tim explained that with the current Home Office funding settlement PCCs have the flexibility to increase funding in each year of the Spending Review 2021 period, which includes 2022-2023 and 2024-2025, with a £10 million council tax referendum limit.
If all PCCs in England and Wales were to take full advantage of this flexibility, this would raise up to an extra £774 million by 2024-25 based on current forecasts.
“Clearly, PCCs can raise additional funds if they need to and we hope that this is something they are actively considering. As a Federation, we will be raising this issue with our own PCC, Simon Foster, and calling on him to do all he can to support officers,” says Tim.
