Fair pay for police 'is in the public's interest'

30 June 2023

West Mercia Police Federation has urged the Government to meet its 17 per cent pay claim after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley repeated his calls for officers to be fairly paid.

Branch chair Barry Horton said police pay should reflect the sacrifices members make, the dangers they face and the stress of the work they do.

He warned officer morale and wellbeing would continue to suffer unless the pay issue was resolved.

His views were echoed by Sir Mark. Writing in the Telegraph, the Met chief said:  “It cannot be right that police officers, the people to whom society turns when most in need, are themselves turning to food banks, getting into unsustainable debt and choosing not to eat so that they can pay their bills.

“I have called for a pay rise for police officers that is in line with inflation. I renew that call and urge the Government to accept any recommendation from the independent pay review body in full and without delay.

“Frontline officers have seen their salaries fall by around 17 per cent in real terms over a decade.”

Sir Mark Rowley has repeated his calls for fair pay for police officers

Sir Mark said a recent report showed 86 per cent of Metropolitan police officers and staff now have concerns about their finances and called for urgent reform.

He said: “It’s not just a matter of fairness. It is in the public’s interest that officers can come to work able to focus fully on the difficult and often dangerous job that they do.

“They cannot be at their best if they are worried about making mortgage payments or providing for their families, or if they are exhausted because working overtime or taking an additional job is the only way that they can make ends meet.”

Police pay was thrust under the spotlight once again after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned he would not shy away from making decisions “people may not like” as he vowed to halve inflation by the end of the year.

He said inflation was “higher than we’d like” and insisted it was important to “make the right and responsible decisions on things like public sector pay”.

Mr Sunak also refused to commit to accepting recommendations for public sector pay rises from independent pay review bodies as part of the Government’s economic strategy.

Pay review body recommendations are not legally binding on the Government and, although they are typically accepted, ministers can choose to reject or partially ignore the advice.

This would be a controversial move after the Government defended last year’s below-inflation pay rises by saying it had followed the bodies’ advice.

The Police Federation withdrew its support for the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) and branded it unfit for purpose after the 2021 pay freeze.

The latest skirmish in the long-running pay row comes after the Police Federation announced it would ballot members on whether the organisation should pursue industrial rights on their behalf.