Government needs to understand huge negative impact years of pay restraint has had on officers

24 November 2022

The Government needs to understand the “huge negative impact” that years of pay restraint have had on police officers, Devon and Cornwall Police Federation has said.

Chair Andy Berry said he would be writing to his local MPs to ask them to endorse an Early Day Motion (EDM 547) tabled by the MP for South Shields. The EDM calls on the Government to urgently explain the more than 25% real-terms pay cut since 2010 for police officers, which is set to increase further with rises in the cost of living and inflation.

The EDM sets out to “recognise the outstanding contributions made by police officers to the security and wellbeing of communities across the UK”.

It was important that the EDM got enough support to be discussed in Parliament, Andy said. He explained: “Police officers cannot strike or take any industrial action. So while the media, MPs and the public are worrying about rail strikes and nursing strikes, absolutely no one has to worry about policing strikes and the chaos that would bring.

“This EDM is an important opportunity to enable the MPs to debate and hopefully understand the huge negative impact years of pay restraint have had on our members. I will certainly be writing to our local MPs to seek their support.”

The Police Federation of England and Wales’ national Chair, Steve Hartshorn, said: “We’re now in an inexcusable situation where one in seven police officers is struggling to cover their monthly essentials.

“Stringent and urgent action to increase police officer pay to protect the profession must now be an urgent priority for the Government. For police forces across the country where morale is already at rock bottom, being the only overlooked emergency service directly impacts our ability to serve the public.”