The Police Federation of England and Wales has accused the Government of “fatally undermining the credibility” of the police pay review process after rejecting the Police Remuneration Review Body's recommendation of a 3.9% pay award and instead imposing a lower 3.5% settlement.

The Federation 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.

The Federation has repeatedly warned that falling real pay, rising demand and declining morale are driving experienced officers out of policing and making it harder to recruit and retain the workforce the public needs. In its evidence to the PRRB, it called for a minimum 7% pay award in each of the next three years to begin reversing years of real-terms pay erosion and stabilising the service.

The Federation's evidence shows the scale of the challenge. The Federation commissioned an online poll of PFEW members conducted between 23 June and 6 July 2026, receiving 4,158 responses.

• 91% of members say a low pay award shows the Government does not respect policing.
• 78% 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. 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% in real terms between 2010 and 2023 – while the rest of the public sector saw its pay go up by 10%.

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.