Home Secretary tells PRRB to 'properly target' police pay

17 January 2019

The Home Secretary has told the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) that he wants to see officers’ pay ‘properly targeted’ and that affordability must be considered in the next annual review of police salaries.

Sajid Javid’s letter to the PRRB authorising the body to begin its review, says that targeting pay is the ‘only way’ to recruit and retain officers and other public sector workers where they are needed most.

A level of pay ‘discipline’ is also required, he said, to ensure police pay is affordable.

Despite PRRB pay recommendations being largely ignored by successive Governments, he said that the body’s work was vital in advising ministers on police pay and urged it to play a key role in planned National Police Chiefs Council pay reforms.

“I see the PRRB continuing to play a key role in the ambitious programme of pay reform … being led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC),” he wrote.

“The expertise of the PRRB in advising Government on the approach to pay is vital in providing an independent view on the detailed proposals that are now emerging and ensuring that implementation of a new pay and reward framework from 2020 can be achieved.”

The letter includes five areas which need to be considered as part of the PRRB’s review work for 2020 pay, all of which must support the NPCC proposals.

The pay recommendation must set out how it will apply to all ranks and a timescale for implementation and it has to include how and if staff associations have been considered in the NPCC’s plans while providing feedback on the plan itself.

Progression pay for police apprentices and reviewing NPCC proposals regarding payments to superintendent ranks for undertaking each 24-hour on call period are also on the body’s to-do list.

“The Government must balance the need to ensure fair pay for public sector workers with protecting funding for frontline services and ensuring affordability for taxpayers,” Mr Javid wrote.

“There will still be a need for pay discipline over the coming years to ensure the affordability … and sustainability of public sector employment.

“Only by properly targeting pay awards can we ensure we recruit and retain the best public sector workers where they are needed most, and I am seeking the PRRB’s views on the optimal allocation of additional investment in pay for the police in 2019/20 to ensure recruitment and retention pressures are properly addressed.”

The PRRB will deliver its recommendations to the Home Office in May.

You can see the Home Secretary’s letter here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/769484/Police_Remuntion_Review_Body_Remit_19.20.pdf