Police Officers and Staff (Remuneration and Conditions of Service)

Baroness May of Maidenhead Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2014 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

This statement is about police pay and conditions. It provides the Government’s response to the police arbitration tribunal’s findings on six recommendations in the final report of Tom Winsor’s independent review of police officer and staff remuneration and conditions.

On 15 January last year, Official Report, column 31WS, I laid a statement to respond to the police arbitration tribunal’s findings on all recommendations in the final report of Tom Winsor’s independent review of police officer and staff remuneration and conditions. The tribunal had not been able to reach a conclusion on measures to introduce compulsory severance, and I therefore referred the matter back to the Police Negotiating Board. The Police Negotiating Board was not able to reach agreement on compulsory severance, nor on the management of officers on restricted duties and these matters were referred to the police arbitration tribunal in November 2013.

The tribunal has now provided its recommendation and reasons, which I received on 20 December. The tribunal considered six recommendations from the Winsor review’s final report. The tribunal rejected the three recommendations which relate to compulsory severance and accepted the three relating to restricted duties. I have today placed a copy of the police arbitration tribunal report in the Library of the House.

I am grateful to the tribunal for its consideration of these important issues. Having considered the tribunal’s report thoroughly, I have decided to accept its recommendation on restricted duties and will implement the reforms it has put forward. I have decided to accept the tribunal’s recommendation not to implement measures to introduce compulsory severance at this time. However, this remains a reform that I believe government and the police should continue to consider. I have written to the Police Negotiating Board to explain my decision in further detail.

These reforms build on the changes we have already implemented following the two reports of the Winsor review. They continue our programme to modernise police pay and conditions so that they are fair to both officers and other taxpayers, to retarget pay to reward contribution, and increase local flexibility.

We remain committed to the review’s principles and objectives, in particular linking pay and skills, and modernising management practices. These will be important considerations in further discussions in the Police Negotiating Board and in the related work that is being taken forward by the College of Policing.

The police must be able to make use of these reforms to the management of officers on restricted duty as soon as possible. I will therefore begin the process of amending the police regulations and determinations to implement the tribunal’s award, including making any necessary consequential and ancillary changes.