PFEW making fairer and consistent funding decisions

11 October 2023

Polfed News

Presenting a report at Annual Conference 2023, National Treasurer Simon Kempton outlined year to date the organisation has spent just over £11 million on legal costs, its largest expenditure.

“Over the last seven or eight years, we have invested more money into legal costs, as more officers require more support from PFEW,” explained Mr Kempton. “We project an upward trend, but it is a difficult area to predict costs in. We are working hard to drive efficiency and maintain service levels for members. Every pound we save, is a pound more to support our members.”

PFEW has achieved £1 million of efficiency savings, including through introducing a more streamlined process with audits, and is now using these funds to secure even better conditions for members.

A recently improved audit process, which means it is more rigorous to maintain high standards, will be delivered by one of the big four audit companies.

Mr Kempton outlined this does mean it takes longer, but the 2021 report will be published soon.

For transparency, reports and accounts are available to view on our website.

On improving governance in 2023, Mr Kempton explained the role of the Finance Committee, operating to ensure greater and fairer oversight to achieve consistency.

It is made up of National Council members from each of the eight regions, a member of the National Board and a member of the finance team.

“Previously there were 43 different ways of doing things,” he said. “This disparate approach made it harder for us. It is important we have fairness and consistency across all branches and with the National Board, with a level playfield to build trust and engagement and this is a position we have worked really hard to get to.

“This means members can receive the same core support, no matter which force they are from, but more importantly branches have the ability to use locally generated funds and reserves for projects important to members in those areas.”

PFEW acknowledges value for money is paramount and would like to remind members that membership costs £24.31 per month which is claimable against income tax - the rebate makes the net cost of subscriptions £19.45 a month.

“Less than £20 a month for the incredible support for the hard work you are doing every single day of the year,” said Mr Kempton.

“PFEW is more than just an insurance policy for those times when we face allegations after just doing our job.

“Our campaigns are vital as we see the tangible benefits for our members, but this just scratches the surface, our reps are working tirelessly day and night to improve things for police officers but much of it goes unseen. It is an area absolutely vital to fund.”

On increases to subscription costs, Mr Kempton underscored how the decisions made by predecessors on freezing subscriptions for nearly a decade meant the rise was more significant – as opposed to being more gradual.

“The Federation of the day probably thought it was doing members a favour – in all fairness in the short term it probably was, but in the longer term we were saving up that pain and reviews became less affordable, so when a rise did come, it was a huge spike, rather than a flatter approach – which would have been just 20/30p a month.”

As PFEW works towards future-proofing the organisation and making it more fit for purpose, Mr Kempton concluded: “We have got a duty to more than 140,000 officers out there today, and we have a duty towards the officers of the future, the ones that haven’t joined the service yet, to make sure there is a strong, relevant Federation looking out for them, because those future officers are going to need us.”