Pay award: Government ignores review body recommendation
16 July 2026
The Government’s decision to ignore the recommendation of the independent police pay review body is another slap in the face for demoralised officers across England and Wales, according to West Midlands Police Federation chair Jess Davies.
Jess has spoken out after the Government yesterday announced officers would get a 3.5 per cent pay rise from 1 September this year despite the fact the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) recommended an increase of 3.9 per cent.
“PRRB considers evidence from a wide range of sources before making its recommendations on police pay,” says Jess, “While the Federation has long been calling for a review of the whole pay review process, all parties should honour the system currently in place.
“The way in which the Government can just ignore PRRB’s findings undermines that process and makes you question why it even bothers going through the motions of having a body in place to consider all the evidence if it is just going to ignore the recommendations and come up with its own figure.
“A 3.5 per cent pay rise will make little difference in officers’ pockets when you consider inflation, higher pension payments and the freeze on tax thresholds so this is going to do nothing to stem the current officer retention crisis that is crippling the police service at a time when the demands and challenges officers face just build and build.
“Only last week, we celebrated the Police Bravery Awards, an event that throws a spotlight on the brave acts carried out by officers the length and breadth of the country as they go about their duties serving and protecting the public.
“We hear warm words of support from the Government, praising officers for their courage but these words seem hollow when ministers then preside over this flagrant disregard of a pay review process that is supposed to deliver a fair deal on police pay.”
In its submission to PRRB, the Police Federation of England and Wales had set out its case for a multi-year settlement, saying a single year award would not repair the damage of real-terms pay cuts.
It called for a minimum seven per cent consolidated pay award for 2026/2027, followed by seven per cent in each of the following two years.
