Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost to the police service in (a) England and (b) Wales of the increase in minimum wage.

On 12 December, the PSC issued a circular stating that it has agreed to the deletion of the lowest pay point (£23,286) on the PSC Pay Spine with effect from 1 April 2025. This is to reflect that the increase in the National Living Wage, which will take effect on 1 April 2025, and will result in a rate of £12.21 per hour which will equate to £23,555 and which would be above the lowest pay point on the PSC pay spine. https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/workforce-and-hr-support/police/police-staff/police-staff-council-circulars/psc-joint-8

We announced the provisional police funding settlement for 2025-26 on 17 December. This includes additional funding of £230.3 million to cover the costs to the police for additional employer’s National Insurance contributions.