New Home Secretary must make police pay a top priority

29 September 2022

New Home Secretary Suella Braverman should tackle the issues faced by police officers as an urgent priority, according to Suffolk Police Federation chair Darren Harris.

Darren’s comments came after the Police Federation called on Ms Braverman to hold urgent talks on the financial and work pressures on its 139,000 members 

In a letter congratulating Ms Braverman on her appointment, the Federation told her it was unacceptable that police officers have seen a 25 per cent real term pay cut over the last 12 years.

Darren said: “The Police Federation has just launched its annual pay and morale survey and you do not need a crystal ball to predict the results.

“Many of our hard-working members are struggling to make ends meet because of the cost of living crisis and some are already making plans to leave the Force to look for better paid jobs away from the service.

“No one becomes a police officer to get rich but they do expect to be properly rewarded for the jobs they do and should not have to worry about paying their bills or feeding their families.

“The new Home Secretary has the chance to make a real mark by tackling these issues head-on and making sure our members can get on with their jobs without being stressed about the state of their finances at the end of every month.

“Suffolk Police Federation wishes Ms Braverman well in her new position and looks forward to forging a strong working relationship with her in the future.”

The Federation has also written to new Prime Minister Liz Truss about the crisis in policing, drawing attention to the serious concerns over police pay and working conditions and pointing out that this year’s pay award will barely cover soaring energy costs faced by members this winter.

Darren urged  Ms Truss and Braverman to start rebuilding the Government’s relationship with policing by launching an immediate review of pay and conditions.

Police Federation national chair Steve Hartshorn said the importance of good relations with the incoming leadership could not be overstated.

He said: “We are now in an inexcusable situation where we have police officers resorting to food vouchers to feed their families and one in seven officers struggling to cover monthly essentials.

“It is critical that we work together to guarantee a fair and proportionate pay rise for officers in 2023.

“We recognise our new Prime Minister will face an immense financial challenge and we look forward to providing our expertise as the undisputed voice of policing to help ease the cost of living crisis for our members and discussing how we can work together to deliver for our membership so they can deliver for all communities across England and Wales.”

The Federation has also written to the Chancellor while the Home Secretary on Friday sent an open letter to police leaders.