Police pay system is broken and must change, says branch chair

16 July 2026

Dyfed Powys Police Federation chair Delme Rees said the system for determining police pay was ‘not fit for purpose’ after it was announced officer pay would increase by 3.5 per cent this year.

Delme has called for a new, full independent police pay mechanism after the Government rejected the Police Remuneration Review Body's (PRRB) recommendation of a 3.9 per cent pay award.

He said: “This decision proves beyond doubt that the current police pay system is not fit for purpose.

“If the Government can simply ignore the recommendations of the independent body, then the process has lost all credibility.

 

 

“Our members put themselves in harm's way every day to keep our communities safe.

“However, they are again rewarded with a pay award that fails to recognise the sacrifices they and their families make.

“It won’t be lost on our members that MPs have received a five per cent award and other public sector workers receiving significantly higher settlements than policing.

“I can’t help but think things would be different for our members if we had a genuinely independent pay review system."

Review body

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), meanwhile, accused the Government of ‘fatally undermining the credibility’ of the police pay review process by rejecting the recommendation of the PRRB.

PFEW said ministers had ignored the advice of the independent body they appointed, despite overwhelming evidence that police pay is driving a worsening recruitment and retention crisis.

It described the decision as a political choice that will have lasting consequences for policing and public safety.

Once inflation, higher pension contributions and frozen tax thresholds are taken into account, the average police officer will be no better off in real terms than before the award, PFEW said.

In its evidence to the PRRB, PFEW called for a minimum seven per cent pay award in each of the next three years to begin reversing years of real-terms pay erosion and stabilising the service.

Online poll

The Federation commissioned an online poll of PFEW members conducted between 23 June and 6 July 2026, receiving 4,158 responses.

• 91 per cent of members say a low pay award shows the Government does not respect policing.

• 78 per cent are dissatisfied with their pay. Pay dissatisfaction is consistent across every rank and every force type.

Police Federation National Secretary John Partington said: “This is a pay rise on paper only, not in officers' pockets.

“In going against the advice of its own expert pay review body, the Home Office has sent a clear message to police officers that it will ignore the evidence that shows police officers are long overdue a pay award that reflects their service and sacrifice.

“Police officers risk their lives to protect the public. The Home Office knows exactly the sacrifices the job demands, yet it has ignored independent advice.

Pay award

“A pay award that barely beats inflation will drive more experienced officers out of policing, make recruitment harder and put the public at risk by weakening public protection.

“The government found the money to give real pay rises to junior doctors and train drivers. But police pay declined by 22 per cent in real terms between 2010 and 2023, while the rest of the public sector saw its pay go up by 10 per cent.

“It’s clearer than ever before that the government is controlling the pay review process. It handpicks the pay review body’s membership and tells them what they’re allowed to consider.

“It’s like a football match where one side selects the opponents’ players and referees the game.

“Even with all that in their favour, the Government has chosen to over-turn the result and fix the outcome.

“The time has come for a proper system of binding arbitration, along with collective pay bargaining, so police can be fairly paid.”

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