THE FUTURE of incremental pay for police officers is still under negotiation, the Police Federation of England and Wales has said.<\/p>\n
As part of the Comprehensive Spending Review, Chancellor George Osborne announced plans to scrap automatic pay progression for public sector workers.\u00a0But Ian Rennie, general secretary of the PFEW, (pictured)\u00a0has said incremental pay is currently being discussed by the Police Negotiating Board.<\/p>\n
Mr Rennie has pointed out that there is no reference to police officers within the Treasury\u2019s Spending Round 2013 document \u2013 only a sentence that says: \u201cThe police have been subject to a two-year progression freeze.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Rennie said: \u201cIt appears that the headline statement in respect of automatic pay progression in the public sector actually involves no new proposals for police officers\u2019 pay.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecommendation 84 from the Winsor Final Report, which seeks to link incremental progression for officers in the Federated Ranks to a satisfactory box marking in an annual appraisal, is still currently under discussion at the Police Negotiating Board.\u201d<\/p>\n
The policing budget, which has already suffered 20 per cent cuts, now faces the prospect of a further cut of 4.9 per cent, or \u00a3269m, in 2015\/2016. Overall the Home Office budget will be cut by six per cent in 2015\/16.<\/p>\n
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said this equates to 10,700 new police constable posts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Chancellor is making the communities and the police pay a greater price for [the government’s] failure. The scale of these cuts to policing is the direct result of the Chancellor\u2019s failure on growth, and his failure to get the deficit down as a result,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
PFEW chairman Steve Williams said the announced cuts were \u201cnot as severe as some predicted\u201d but said the PFEW would be \u201cvery interested to hear how the Government proposes forces should function with even more scant resources\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added that if government is committed to protecting counter-terrorism policing, it should also be committed to protecting the entire service. Reduced funds will mean fewer officers on the beat making routine stop checks and enquiries that contribute to protecting the country from terrorism, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur members have admirably risen to the challenges of recent years in the face of unprecedented pressure and adversity but have simply run out of room to manoeuvre,\u201d said Mr Williams. \u201cMore cuts will see morale fall further at the expense of service delivery to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n