Fed chair hosts first in a series of meetings with MPs

17 September 2024

North Yorkshire Police Federation chair Rob Bowles has held the first of a series of meetings with the region’s MPs to highlight the challenges facing frontline policing.

Rob met with Sir Julian Smith, the Conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon, and briefed him on the challenges facing members and the Federation’s work on their behalf.

At the top of the agenda was police pay and the Police Federation of England and Wales’s (PFEW) push for a fair and independent pay review mechanism.

He said: “I went through the Federation’s pay restoration campaign and our aspiration to have an independent pay and remuneration review process.

Industrial rights

“For many years we have laboured under the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) process.

“I pressed on him the argument has always been that because we don’t have full industrial rights we would have an evidence-based mechanism to enable us to be sure we were always going to get fair pay and conditions.

“Unfortunately the PRRB has never been that mechanism. It’s always been guided by Government.

Sir Julian Smith, the Conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon.

“Government has always been able to stipulate which areas they can look at and the Government has just not bound to the findings of the PRRB.

“I went through with him all of that process and that, despite the PRRB on numerous occasions recommending x, y, or z percentage pay increase, it was capped by the Government at one per cent for many years.

“I pointed out that such is the level of dissatisfaction among police officers that we are in the process of deciding if we are going to ballot for industrial rights because the Government side of the covenant, if you like, hasn’t been adhered to.”

Poor pay

Rob also discussed the impact that poor pay and conditions have had on frontline officers, pointing to the branch’s most recent Pay and Morale Survey as evidence.

“I went through the Pay and Morale Survey with him,” Rob explained. “I talked about the findings of the survey and the long-term implications of the undermining of our pay and conditions since 2010.

“I talked about how that has had massive implications for morale, officer retention, and for a range of other things all covered in the Pay and Morale Survey.”

Rob discussed with Sir Julian the time it takes for police discipline matters to be dealt with.

Time Limits Campaign

The Federation has long been campaigning for a time limit for disciplinary proceedings against officers.

Its Time Limits Campaign calls for it to be set at 12 months from the date of the allegations being made.

Rob said: “He pledged his support for those initiatives and said he would have conversations with ministers when it was possible to do so.”

Rob is arranging further meetings with the region’s MPs in the upcoming weeks to highlight the issues and challenges facing members.

The next one is set to be on 4 October with Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton.

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