South Yorkshire Police officers are continuing to struggle financially, the Federation has said, as a new report found that, nationally, one in five officers were skipping meals.<\/p>\n
Metfriendly\u2019s Police Family Finance Report, a survey of more than 6,000 serving and retired police officers and support staff, found that for 56% of respondents the cost-of-living crisis had affected their wellbeing, and 55% felt their financial situation had declined over the past 12 months, despite adjustments to pay levels made in 2023.<\/p>\n
One in five (21%) are skipping meals, and 9% said they or family members they live with have used a food bank in the past 12 months.<\/p>\n
Steve Kent, Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation, which runs a foodbank for its officers, said it was ridiculous that officers weren\u2019t able to afford the basics.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe run our own foodbank for our officers. We\u2019re glad that officers have used it and that it\u2019s been helpful, but that just shows there\u2019s a need for it. South Yorkshire is an area where you get more for your pound than you do elsewhere in the country. I can only imagine what it\u2019s like in other places.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven in South Yorkshire, our young officers are genuinely struggling to find a place to rent, and don\u2019t even start on mortgages. Young officers are not in a position to take a mortgage out. So we\u2019ve got officers house sharing; 30 years ago, a PC could afford a mortgage as a single person. Now, they\u2019re struggling to afford to rent somewhere. It\u2019s absolutely ridiculous.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not surprised at all that officers are skipping meals. As well as the fact that the demand is so high that they don\u2019t get time to eat, financially they\u2019re struggling too, and this is not right.\u201d<\/p>\n