The 7% police pay deal is a \u201csmall step in the right direction\u201d, but officers are still relying on food banks and struggling with the cost of living, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
The Government has announced that officers of all ranks will receive a 7% pay rise from 1 September, but police pay is not keeping up with inflation.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile a new survey from Metfriendly found that officers\u2019 financial concerns had increased over the past six months, and that over a quarter said that they missed meals \u2013 a key indicator of household poverty.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: \u201cWe\u2019ve still got food banks in our office and dotted around the force, and kind officers put food in for each other as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis pay rise is a small step in the right direction, but it won\u2019t deal with the overall issue. We are still hearing about cops who are struggling and it needs a fundamental change in police pay because it\u2019s not sustainable, with people\u2019s mortgages going up by hundreds of pounds each month, and fuel going up.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo yes, it\u2019s a bit of relief, but it\u2019s not going to solve the problem long term. What we need is a root-and-branch review of policing pay. I did my own research last year and at that point we had the poorest average pay in the G7. That is a pretty poor way to treat police officers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe welcome the fact that the pay scales are shorter and that people can climb up to the higher scales earlier. But we need to see better pay to attract the right people coming into policing and to attract the right people going for promotion as well. It\u2019s not just PCs, it\u2019s all the way up to Chief Inspector. The pay just isn\u2019t enough for what people\u2019s responsibilities are.\u201d<\/p>\n
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