South Wales Federation chair Phil Walker has warned a real-terms cut to police pay risks accelerating the loss of officers and destabilising frontline policing.
In its submission to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB), the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) is calling for a minimum seven per cent pay award for officers in each of the next three years.
PFEW said the increase would deliver an ‘essential reset’ after more than a decade of real-terms pay cuts, increase morale, and boost officer retention.
The Federation’s submission comes after:
- The Government’s remit letter to the PRRB made clear that recommendations must reflect affordability within existing funding settlements
- The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) indicated it would support a 3.5 per cent award only if fully funded, falling to 2.5 per cent if it is not.
Mental health crisis
Phil said any settlement that amounted to a real-terms pay cut risked adding to the recruitment and retention crisis, and locking policing into long-term decline.
He said: “Our members are doing more with less every single shift, dealing with serious violence, mental health crises, and organised crime.
“At the same time, many are struggling to pay rising household bills and essential costs, which is why a settlement that takes a sizeable step towards pay restoration is so needed.
“Another real-terms pay cut will be deeply damaging and I’m sure will drive even more officers away from the profession.”
Phil urged Sarah Jones MP to match her recent words of support for policing with decisive action.
Speaking in Parliament while presenting the Police Covenant annual report, Ms Jones, the Policing Minister, said she wanted the police workforce to ‘be in no doubt’ the Government was ‘on your side and will support you’.
Policing Minister Sarah Jones MP
Phil said: “I can think of no better way for the minister and the Government to show their support for policing than by starting the process of pay restoration.
“Accepting PFEW’s proposals to restore officer pay would send a welcome message to our members that the Government is on their side.
“It’s desperately needed because officers are leaving the service in large numbers at a time when the demands on policing have never been higher or more complex.
Cost of living
“If pay continues to fall behind the cost of living, people will continue to leave, and the public will inevitably pay the price through slower response times and reduced service.”
Responding to the Government’s remit letter, PFEW national secretary John Partington said: “If affordability within existing budgets becomes the ceiling for police pay, we are guaranteeing a broken service.
“It is neither fair to officers nor affordable to the public who pay the cost in crime and reduced safety.
“A properly independent review body must determine what resources proper policing really needs, not simply how much more blood can be squeezed from the stone.”
He added that it was disappointing that the NPCC had shown it was ready to accept such a low settlement.
John said: “Officers will be putting their health and their lives on the line this weekend, knowing their chiefs are recommending what is in effect a real-terms pay cut.
Chief Constables
“Chief constables should be honest with the people they are supposed to lead: they are endorsing another reduction in officers’ living standards, one which has obvious and severe consequences.
“You cannot demand more courage, more resilience and more personal risk while steadily reducing the value of the job.
“Brave and dedicated men and women are leaving policing in record numbers because it no longer pays enough to justify the cost to them and their families.”
Alongside its pay claim, PFEW is calling for structural reform of police remuneration, including the introduction of a military-style ‘P Factor’ recognising the unique risks, restrictions and psychological trauma inherent in policing.
Evidence submitted to the PRRB shows:
- Almost half of all constables have five years’ service or less
- Mental health-related sickness absence is at record levels
- Assaults on officers remain persistently high
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