PCCs plea to Home Secretary for 3.8% pay rise for police

• 13 Police and Crime Commissioners, including Gloucestershire PCC Chris Nelson, have written to the Home Secretary seeking additional funding to pay police officers more
• Officers are due to receive a 3.8% increase from 1 September
• The pay settlement was recommended by the National  Police Chiefs’ Council in the expectation of additional funding from the Home Office – but this has yet to be confirmed
• With many police force budgets under pressure, Mr. Nelson says they need to know where the extra money will come from to help with financial planning

Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson is one of 13 PCCs who are asking the Home Secretary for extra funding for a proposed police pay rise.

Officers are in line for a 3.8% increase from 1 September and the PCCs want to know where the money will come from.

The increase was recommended by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the national body that represents the country’s chief police officers, on the basis the additional funding would come from the Home Office. However, no announcement had been made to the House of Commons by the time MPs broke for their summer holidays last week.

And with many police budgets coming under severe pressure, including Gloucestershire’s, the PCCs say they need to know to help them plan their finances.

Mr. Nelson is one of 13 PCCs who signed a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, seeking urgent clarification.

“If the award is going to be above the agreed amount budgeted by forces, we need time to prepare and assess the potential financial impacts of this ahead of the police grant settlement in December”, he said.

“The NPCC proposed a 3.8% settlement this year, on the basis that the additional funding would be required from the Home Office – a position supported by the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners.

“Other sectors have already had their pay offers, so at a time when Police demand is particularly stretched, an early resolution would be most welcome.

“We hope that the Home Secretary is able to provide this update imminently and provide Police Officers with the support that they deserve”.

Other PCCs who signed the letter were: Matthew Scott, Kent PCC; Matthew Barber, Thames Valley; Jonathan Ash-Edwards, Hertfordshire; Alison Hernandez, Devon, Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly; John Campion, West Mercia; Lisa Townsend, Surrey; Jonathan Evison, Humberside; Donna Jones, Hampshire & Isle of Wight; Ben Adams, Staffordshire Commissioner; Philip Seccombe, Warwickshire; Rupert Matthews, Leicestershire & Rutland; Darryl Preston, Cambridgeshire and Roger Hirst Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner for Essex.

The House of Commons rose on Tuesday 22 July and is scheduled to return on Monday 1 September.