Conference backs £2 rise in Federation subs

17 June 2020

Monthly subscriptions to the Police Federation will increase by £2 a month to £23.58 from 1 September this year.

The increase, which is the first since 2011, was supported by delegates who took part in a Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) virtual conference earlier today.

Members can apply for tax relief on their Federation subscriptions and this would mean they paid £18.86 a month for the range of services and support offered through the Federation.

In a joint statement issued after the vote by Federation representatives from across England and Wales, national Federation chair John Apter and secretary Alex Duncan said: “This decision allows the Federation to continue to do the very best it can for our members and to represent them to the best of our ability.”

They explained: “PFEW’s National Board recommended the increase after considering it was in the best interests of the members, and the organisation. Having avoided any increase in subscriptions for a decade when colleagues suffered years of austerity and pay freezes, this increase was essential to allow current levels of support and assistance for members to be maintained.

“For a number of years, PFEW has bridged the gap between income and expenditure by using reserves. This is not sustainable in the longer term as costs continue to rise due to inflation.

“Increasing subscription rates for our members was not a decision we have come to lightly. In an ideal world we would have been able to continue as we had but, after almost 10 years of subscriptions being frozen, we reached the point that doing nothing was not an option.”

Delegates voted in favour of three motions, all with effect from 1 September 2020: 

• The monthly voluntary subscription rate to PFEW to be £23.58
• Student officers who elect to subscribe to PFEW will be entitled to a 50 per cent discounted rate for the first year of their service, thereafter they will pay the normal subscription rate
• Those who join the service on the Direct Entry Inspectors’ Scheme will pay the full subscription rate.

The virtual conference was organised after the annual national Police Federation conference which would have been held in Manchester yesterday and today was cancelled due to coronavirus. Last year’s conference was also cancelled, as a result of a cyber-attack on PFEW.

The online conference began with the national chair welcoming delegates to the Microsoft Teams event before national treasurer Simon Kempton outlined why it was felt necessary to increase subscriptions and how it was decided to seek a £2 a month rise. Delegates’ pre-submitted questions were also answered before a series of votes.

Read the Federation's FAQs on the increase in subs.