Seven per cent pay rise for police officers confirmed

13 July 2023

Hertfordshire Police Federation chair Luke Mitchell has described the seven per cent pay offer announced by the Government as a step in the right direction but warned members might still be left feeling short changed.

The award across all ranks is well short of the original 17 per cent claim issued by the Police Federation and below the current rate of inflation but is better than some analysts had predicted.

It comes after the Government accepted the recommendations of the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB). 

Luke said: “We accept the seven per cent uplift and even though it falls some way below what we were calling for and still fails to address years of real-terms cuts.

“I think the time has come for the Government to take a long, hard look at the police pay, the role of the PRRB and the input of the Police Federation and come up with a long-term solution.

“While the seven per cent rise is very welcome, let's not forget it's still a pay cut compared to inflation, which leaves policing still lagging behind where pay should be.

“The seven per cent rise will mean nothing if we then go forward with poor pay increase moving forward.  This is a start, but police pay must now increase vastly year on year, bridging the gap between where we should be and where we are”.

“The Police Federation national council has already met to discuss how we start the process to look at next years pay award.”

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has ruled out extra borrowing to fund police pay

The Government has ruled out extra borrowing to fund this year’s police pay increases because it fears such a move would further stoke inflation but this could mean cuts to existing frontline services.

The current level of CPI inflation is running at 8.7 per cent and Prime Minister Rishi  Sunak - who has promised to cut it to around 5.3 per cent by the end of the year - wants to avoid increases which could fuel a wage-price spiral.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told MPs it was “important to deliver on the Prime Minister’s priority to get debt falling and to control borrowing to avoid adding inflationary pressures and risk prolonging higher inflation”.

He said: “That means taking difficult but responsible decisions on the public finances, including public sector pay, because more borrowing is itself inflationary.”

Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen said the police pay rise would be partly covered by increasing the cost of certain visas by up to 20 per cent to create more funding for border forces, allowing the Home Office to divert some money towards police officer pay.

National chair Steve Hartshorn said: “I have no doubt that police officers will have mixed feelings – on the one hand, they will be pleased that the pay award was not as bad as some media outlets had speculated, but also disappointed that it doesn’t fully take account of inflation, as they and their families struggle with increased utility, mortgage and food costs. 

“We will continue to push for fair pay awards that take full account of inflation and recognise and reward the unique status of police officers; including the introduction of a fair, independent mechanism and negotiation process, so that we can properly sit down with government and employers to negotiate pay settlements that fully consider the risks and restrictions placed on police officers’ private and professional lives. The focus going forward needs to be on pay restoration.”