Policy paper

Home Office evidence to the Police Remuneration Review Body, 2021 to 2022 (accessible version)

Published 12 February 2021

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

I. Executive Summary

1. The Government recognises the dedication and commitment shown by police officers up and down the country, who are doing an incredible job to support the response to Covid-19. Police officers have played a critical role during the pandemic and have responded with speed and flexibility to the unprecedented challenges.

2. Covid-19 is having a very significant impact on the economy, labour market and the fiscal position, supressing earnings growth and increasing redundancies in the private sector. Public sector pay has been shielded from the pandemic’s economic effects. Since March 2020, the number of people in employment in the UK fell by 782,000, whilst over a similar period of time public sector employment increased. At the Spending Review, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that pay rises in the public sector will therefore be restrained and targeted in 2021/22. This decision will be reassessed after 2021/22 when there will be a fuller understanding of the impact of Covid-19 on the wider labour market.

3. The Government is committed to supporting the police and giving them the extra resources that they need to protect the public and has committed to recruiting 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023. On 4 September 2019, the Home Office announced plans to invest an additional £750m in policing for 2020/21 with an additional £45m to kick start recruitment in 2019/20. This funding has allowed forces to accelerate recruitment plans and begin to recruit the first wave of 6,000 additional officers by March 2021. Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Police Uplift Programme has, at 30 September 2020, recruited an extra 5,824 officers, 29% of 20,000 officer target. The provisional police funding settlement for 2021/22, announced on 17 December, includes £415 million of additional funding to continue the recruitment of 20,000 extra police officers by 2023 in England and Wales.

4. The Government is clear that progress must be made to reform police officer pay. The current pay structure is still grounded in a system of annual incremental progression and over half of all officers are at the top of their pay scale. It is right that officers have better access to professional development throughout their career with a pay structure that supports this. The National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) proposals to introduce a ‘pay progression standard’ are a positive step forward that will help to drive up the importance of Performance and Development Reviews (PDR), line management and effective supervision, and officer development.

5. The 2020/21 settlement provided the biggest increase in funding for the policing system since 2010. This totalled £15.2 billion, an increase of £1.1 billion compared to 2019/20, including precept, pension funding and national investment. The provisional police funding settlement announced an increase in funding for policing of up to £636 million for 2021/22. This includes funding to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) (including capital), plus funding for counter-terrorism policing and funding for national priorities.

6. The Home Secretary’s remit letter refers the following matters to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) in the 2021/22 pay round:

• For those earning the full time equivalent of gross earnings of less than £24,000, the Government proposes to continue pay uplifts at a value of £250 or the National Living Wage increase, whichever is higher. The PRRB is asked to provide recommendations on the implementation of this uplift and the number of officers it will apply to.
• To consider and make recommendations on the NPCC’s proposals to introduce a ‘pay progression standard’ and the timetable for implementation.
• To provide updated commentary on the work undertaken to reach consensus with all parties on the methodologies used to benchmark the pay of all ranks and to value the ‘P-factor’.
• That the PRRB’s recommendations and observations are considered in the context of the Government’s commitment to increase police officer numbers by 20,000 over three years, while improving officer welfare and leadership - aims which should be supported by the pay structure.

II. Key considerations

7. At the Spending Review, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that pay rises in the public sector will be restrained and targeted in 2021/22. Covid-19 is having a very significant impact on the economy, labour market and the fiscal position. It has supressed earnings growth and increased redundancies in the private sector. Public sector pay has been shielded from the pandemic’s economic effects. Since March 2020, the number of people in employment in the UK fell by 782,000, whilst over a similar period of time public sector employment increased.

8. If the Government continued with rises across the board, the existing gap between public sector reward and the private sector would widen significantly. Pay awards will therefore be temporarily paused for the majority of the public sector as we assess the impact Covid-19 has had on the wider economy and labour market. This approach will also allow us to protect public sector jobs and investment in public services as Covid-19 continues to have an impact on public sector finances and spending. We will be able to reassess this decision after 2021/22 when there will be a fuller understanding of the impact of Covid-19 on the wider labour market.

Basic pay

9. For those earning the full time equivalent of gross earnings of less than £24,000, the Government proposes to continue pay uplifts at a value of £250 or the National Living Wage (NLW) increase, whichever is higher. We ask the PRRB to provide recommendations on the implementation of this uplift and the number of officers it will apply to, considering the factors set out below.

• Those earning less than £24,000 should be determined on the basis of the basic salary of a full-time equivalent police officer, pro-rated on the basis of hours worked at a rate of 40 hours per week for those working part-time.
• The £24,000 is based on the normal interpretation of basic salary and does not include overtime, bonuses, nor any regular payments such as London Weighting, recruitment or retention payments or other allowances.
• Part-time officers with a full-time equivalent salary of less than £24,000 should receive a pro-rata increase on the basis of the number of hours worked.

10. Determinations made under Police Regulations 2003 set out that police constables may be appointed in a range between pay point 0 (currently £21,402) and pay point 1 (currently £24,780). Those appointed on the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) scheme have lower starting salaries of £18,912 up to pay point 1. We propose the £250 uplift is applied to pay point 0 and the PCDA starting salary.

11. We ask the PRRB to recommend how the £250 uplift should be implemented in a way that minimises distortion of existing pay scales. Marginally higher awards will only be considered if distortion cannot be avoided. The PRRB may want to consider:

• The level of progression pay provided to the workforce.
• Affordability.
• NLW increases.
• How best to avoid ‘leapfrogging’ of those earning just under £24,000, with those earning just over £24,000. The Government will consider modest, necessary awards in excess of the £24,000 threshold to avoid such structural issues, if there is a strong case. Given that officers are appointed on starting salaries in a range up to £24,780, we welcome views from the PRRB on how to avoid this.

12. A full assessment of the costs of implementing the £250 uplift will be undertaken when the PRRB’s recommendations are submitted. However, provisional management information suggests the £250 uplift will add around £1m to the police officer pay bill. The costs will be met from existing police force budgets. We consider these to be affordable in the context of the funding increase provided in the 2021/22 funding settlement.

Pay reform

13. The Government is clear that progress must be made to reform police officer pay. The current pay structure is still grounded in a system of annual incremental progression and over half of all officers are at the top of their pay scale. It is right that officers have better access to professional development throughout their career with a pay structure that supports this. We ask the PRRB to consider and make recommendations on the NPCC’s proposals to introduce a ‘pay progression standard’ and the timetable for implementation.

14. In the last pay round, the PRRB considered proposals submitted by the NPCC on benchmarking of police officer pay and valuation of the ‘P factor’, noting there were disagreements on the methodologies. The NPCC will provide an update on the work undertaken to reach consensus with all parties on the methodologies used to benchmark the pay of all ranks and to value the ‘P-factor’. We ask the PRRB to provide updated commentary on this work.

III. Context

The policing environment

15. The latest published figures from the survey, ‘Crime in England and Wales’^{[footnote 1]} show that in the year ending June 2020, total police recorded crime decreased by 4% in England and Wales. Police reported crime levels were relatively stable from July 2019 to March 2020 and the annual decrease was mainly driven by substantial falls during the April to June 2020 period, particularly in theft offences, a result of changes in society after Covid-19 lockdown restrictions were put in place. The next update is due to be published at the end of January.

16. However, HMICFRS’s last ‘State of Policing’^{[footnote 2]} report recognises that the policing of Covid-19 is one of the biggest challenges the police have faced in recent years. Police officers have played a critical role during the pandemic and have responded with speed and flexibility to the unprecedented challenges. Forces have re- designed their working practices, adapted to implement new and evolving Covid-19 regulations and collaborated to ensure all personnel have had the necessary equipment and support to do their jobs safely. Officers have worked with the public to build understanding of the rules intended to control the virus, while continuing to tackle crime and disorder, following the four E’s approach: engaging, explaining and encouraging compliance, with enforcement used when required.

17. The Government has been clear that police forces will be provided with the support that they need to continue protecting the public and keeping communities safe through the pandemic. In October, the Government provided £30 million of additional surge funding to forces to enhance their enforcement activities through the autumn and winter months. This support is being provided in addition to the police funding settlement for 2020/21 which set out the biggest increase in funding for the policing system since 2010.

18. The Government is also reimbursing the cost of all additional personal protective equipment (PPE) purchased by PCCs between 27 February and 27 July 2020 and has launched an Income Loss Recovery Scheme for forces to recover relevant lost income on expected sales, fees and charges against their 2020/21 budgets as a result of the pandemic. We will continue working with all police forces to capture the additional financial pressures they are experiencing as a result of COVID-19 and inform cross-Government discussions on the police’s future funding needs.

19. The EU Exit Transition Period ended on 31 December. A range of fast and effective security capabilities were agreed with the EU, including:

• Streamlined extradition arrangements.
• An arrangement enabling the fast and effective exchange of national DNA, fingerprint and vehicle registration data via the Prüm system to aid law enforcement agencies in investigating crime and terrorism.
• Continued operational co-operation with Europol and Eurojust.
• Arrangements enabling the fast and effective exchange of criminal records data via shared technical infrastructure.
• Arrangements providing for continued transfers of Passenger Name Record data to protect the public from serious crime and terrorism.

20. Further details on the security arrangement can be found in the UK-EU trade and co-operation agreement summary.

Police funding

21. The 2020/21 settlement provided the biggest increase in funding for the policing system since 2010. This totalled £15.2 billion, an increase of £1.1 billion compared to 2019/20, including precept, pension funding and national investment.

• We increased Government grants to PCCs by £700 million to support the recruitment of an additional 6,000 officers by the end of March 2021, which they are on track to achieve.
• PCCs have been empowered to raise local council tax contributions for local policing by less than 20 pence a week per Band D household. With local decisions taken, this is set to raise an additional £247 million.
• We invested more than £200 million to combat Serious and Organised Crime, as well as £119 million to reduce serious violent crime. This included dedicated funding to target county lines and drug trafficking.
• Funding for counter-terrorism policing increased by £90 million to total £906 million in 2020/21.

22. On 17 December, the Government announced an increase in funding for policing of up to £636 million for 2021/22. This includes funding to Police and Crime Commissioners (including capital), plus funding for counter-terrorism policing and funding for national priorities. The proposed funding package includes:

• Police Uplift Programme: The Government is committed to delivering an additional 20,000 officers by March 2023. Latest statistics show that, as of 30 September 2020, almost 6,000 of these officers were already in place. Setting aside over £400m for the recruitment of another 6,000 officers next year demonstrates our commitment to giving the police the resources they need.
• Police precept: Around two-thirds of funding for PCCs comes directly from Government grants, with around a third coming from a share of council tax – known as police precept. In 2021/22, we are giving PCCs in England the flexibility to increase local funding by setting a £15 precept limit for a typical Band D property. If all PCCs take full advantage of this flexibility, it will raise up to an additional £288 million for local forces.
• Counter terrorism policing: Counter-terrorism policing is a national priority with ring-fenced funding. Counter-terrorism policing will receive funding of up to £914 million in 2021/22, including money for armed policing and more officers through the Police Uplift Programme. The total also includes an allocation of £10 million from pensions grant funding. In addition, counter- terrorism policing will receive £32 million in 2021/22 to establish a new CT Operations Centre to keep the country safe from a range of threats, including terrorism, hostile state activity and organised crime.
• National priorities: In 2021/22, £1.1 billion will be provided for national policing programmes and priorities. This includes £39 million to support the recruitment of 20,000 new police officers and £54.8 million in Special Grant funding to contribute to costs of unexpected events and major investigations. This package will also provide funding to tackle serious violence, serious and organised crime at national, regional and local levels, and to expand police capacity to tackle online drivers of violence and build stronger evidence on how to prevent homicides. We are also continuing to invest in violence against women and girls, and the scourge of domestic abuse.
• Pensions: The funding package includes £152.6 million to help police pay increased pensions costs. Of this, £142.6 million will go directly to PCCs and £10 million to counter-terrorism police and the National Crime Agency.

23. Further details are set out in the provisional police funding settlement for 2021/22.

Efficiency and effectiveness

24. The Home Office expects to see £120m of efficiency savings delivered from across the law enforcement sector in 2021/22. We expect these to be delivered through a combination of improved procurement practices as well as savings in areas such as estates, agile working and shared/enabling services. BlueLight Commercial has been set up to transform the commercial activity of policing in the UK, by eliminating silo-working and boosting purchasing power. We expect £20m of procurement savings to be delivered during 2021/22 through BlueLight Commercial as well as additional shared services/back office transactional savings by the end of this financial year. BlueLight Commercial is currently looking to buy more than 8,000 vehicles for police forces right across England and Wales.

25. Investment in the police to improve efficiency and productivity has included accelerating the roll out of Microsoft O365 across forces through the National Enabling Programme (NEP). This provides officers with front line tools to work in new and efficient ways. Digital Public Contact (DPC) has created a Covid-19 reporting platform for citizens in England and Wales allowing breaches to be reported and processed more efficiently compared to 101 phone calls. The National Data Analytics Service (NDAS) have identified benefits through their Modern Slavery use case enabling previously resource intensive analysis to be produced quickly and efficiently. It will help uncover unknown modern slavery crimes and victims within existing data sets and create visualisations of modern slavery networks in seconds which previously would take analysts long periods of sifting. Digital Forensics investment is also working to improve capability and efficiency, including through automation of areas such as validation.

26. We have identified a need to work more closely with the sector on an ongoing basis in relation to efficiencies. We are establishing a new Board, consisting of Home Office and sector representatives, which will work to improve the evidence base on efficiencies delivered to date, identify opportunities for gains over this and future Spending Review periods, share best practice in relation to the delivery of efficiencies, and monitor and support delivery of gains.

27. Policing needs to ensure that high quality data are collected and utilised effectively to support local delivery, identify efficiencies and support the National Policing Board’s drive to deliver the best possible policing outcomes for the public. The Home Office and the NPCC will bring together in one document their strategies, plans and initiatives for improving data collection and use across the sector and with key delivery partners such as criminal justice agencies.

28. Progress continues to be made against the effectiveness conditions agreed with HM Treasury in 2019/20. Policing has continued to work towards reducing the investigative skills gap. The NPCC continues to take forward a comprehensive programme of work to address the gap, including further development of the concept of a national staff bank of investigators. Whilst monitoring this work, we will continue to support the Police Now National Detective Programme.

Police Uplift Programme

29. Demand on the police is changing and becoming more complex. The Government is committed to supporting the police and giving them the extra resources that they need to protect the public and keep us safe. The Government has committed to recruiting 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023. On 4 September 2019, the Home Office announced plans to invest an additional £750m in policing for 2020/21 with an additional £45m to kick start recruitment in 2019/20. This funding has allowed forces to accelerate recruitment plans and begin to recruit the first wave of 6,000 additional officers by March 2021.

30. The commitment to recruit 20,000 extra police officers by March 2023 is the biggest police recruitment drive in decades. Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Police Uplift Programme has, at 30 September 2020, recruited an extra 5,824 officers, 29% of the 20,000 officer target. Since the start of the uplift campaign 12,675 officers have joined police forces, including those recruited specifically as part of the Police Uplift Programme, with others joining forces through locally funded recruitment and to replace leavers.

31. In response to Covid-19 the College of Policing has successfully launched an online assessment centre (OAC), with support from the Police Uplift Programme. The OAC has now been rolled out to 43 forces across England and Wales, limiting the need for face to face contact while maintaining standards. This has meant forces have been able to maintain their recruitment pipelines and limit the impact of the pandemic on police officer recruitment.

32. For the financial year 2020/21 the Home Office ringfenced £168m of the funding for the Police Uplift Programme. Following a request from the NPCC the Home Office applied flexibility and repurposed £84 million of the ringfenced funding to allow for expenditure on coronavirus or recruitment related costs linked to the Uplift over the first half of the 2020/21. The remaining £84m for the second half of 2020/21 allows only for expenditure on recruitment costs for the Uplift.

33. The Home Office has supported force led recruitment activity with a variety of attraction and recruitment activity, whilst delivering a national campaign that has been designed to reach the widest and most diverse audience possible. The ‘joining the police’ website has had over 1.5 million new user visits since campaign launch on 5 September 2019 according to web analytics. Over 60% of visitors click through to force websites.

34. A career in policing remains attractive and at 30 September 2020 over 107,000 applications to join the police had been received since October 2019, according to data provided by the NPCC.

Recruitment and retention

35. The Government’s commitment to increase the workforce by 20,000 officers over three years reflects the most significant officer uplift in decades and demonstrates the Government’s support. Following the 2020 Spending Review, at least £400m additional funding has been allocated for police forces next year to continue the Police Uplift Programme. This will enable the recruitment of up to 6,000 additional officers next year, continuing the progress on recruitment to date. The Police Uplift Programme is ensuring we effectively support forces in recruitment which includes improvements in onboarding, diversity, consistency and support.

36. The College of Policing has prepared detailed guidance to ensure that there will be no bar to EU nationals joining or continuing to serve in the police following the end of the Transition Period on 31 December.

37. Outside of the Police Uplift Programme, recruitment and retention of police officers at a national level remains stable. Wastage rates remain low overall at 6%, excluding transfers. Voluntary resignations account for less than 2% of the workforce. Retirement rates also remain stable and most officers continue to retire shortly after completing 30 years’ service. We welcome the work being led by the NPCC to develop and carry out exit interviews with those leaving the service. This will improve understanding of the factors that prompt officers to resign and will inform the development of initiatives to help retain skilled and experienced officers.

38. Alongside the OAC for constables, the College of Policing has ensured that promotions can continue and key supervisory positions are filled by carrying out rapid work to move sergeants’ and inspectors’ exams online. The Government also accepted the PRRB’s recommendation to remove the lowest point of the sergeants’ pay scale to incentivise recruitment to this rank to support new officers joining via the Police Uplift Programme.

39. In its ‘A Workforce Under Pressure 2018/19’ report, HMICFRS noted a continued shortage of qualified detectives and other investigators at a national level and that some forces are not coping well with increasing demand, although it acknowledged a national campaign to improve numbers. Based on data from 32 forces, HMICFRS reported in their PEEL spotlight report that the percentage of detective vacancies has reduced from last year’s 19% to 14%. HMICFRS acknowledged that reducing the deficit completely will take a few years, mainly because of how long it takes an investigator to become accredited, and the natural loss of qualified staff through retirement and promotion. HMICFRS are expected to release an update on these figures soon. However, their ‘State of Policing’ report notes that there remains a national shortage of trained investigators.

40. Managing this shortage and ensuring the right people stay on in the job requires a co-ordinated approach, particularly given that most of these officers will continue to come through traditional entry routes. We welcome the action forces are taking to ensure they have sufficient numbers of detectives. This is also why we have continued to fund the Police Now National Detective Programme, aiming to help bridge the gap in detective numbers. AC Matt Jukes, on behalf on the NPCC, has also been working with the College of Policing to consider current recruitment issues and how the workforce can be supported to fill some of these ‘hard to fill’ vacancies. Workforce planning and quality of supervision are two areas where much more needs to be done. The commitment to increase officer numbers over three years is accelerating this work and we will work with the NPCC and policing partners to consider recruitment challenges ahead, to help ensure that the right skills are retained and that detective numbers are at adequate levels.

41. The retention of experienced police officers is a priority for the Home Office. We are working alongside the NPCC to maximise opportunities to retain police officers who have valuable skills and policing experience.

Diversity

42. Police forces that reflect the communities they serve are crucial to tackling crime in a modern diverse society, as well as building trust and confidence with the public. The latest workforce statistics^{[footnote 3]} show the police workforce continues to become more representative in terms of ethnicity and gender. The proportion of officers who are Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) has increased year on year, from 3.9% in 2007 to 7.3% in 2020. However, as at 31 March 2020, the proportion of BAME officers was considerably lower than the 14.0% of the population in England and Wales that are BAME.

43. BAME officers remain under-represented particularly at senior ranks, with 4.3% at the rank of chief inspector or above at 31 March 2020 compared with 7.9% at constable rank. The number of BAME officers at chief officer rank is low – there are 4 of a total of 231.

44. At 31 March 2020 female officers represented 31.2% of all police officers. The proportion of those in senior ranks (chief inspector and above) who were women was 26.6%. Of the 231 chief officers, 68 were female, representing 29.4% of total officers at chief officer rank.

45. The recruitment of an additional 20,000 officers provides a once in a generation opportunity to ensure forces are more representative of the people they serve and that forces are attracting talent from all communities. It is encouraging to see that since April 2020, 10.7% of recruits identified as being from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic group compared to 10.2% during the year ending 31 March 2020. For the same time period 39%, or four in ten new recruits, have been female compared to 36.7% during the year ending 31 March 2020.

46. We recognise that more action is needed and work is already underway by forces to ensure they can attract a more representative workforce as part of the uplift in officer numbers. As part of the programme’s data improvement work, all forces and PCCs are provided with local level gender and ethnicity data on a monthly basis. The data demonstrates in what areas forces may need to improve, as well as identifying best practice that can be shared across policing. The programme is working closely with forces to help them respond to their data, but also understand where a force might benefit from additional support through the programme.

47. Sharing best practice, engagement with associations, upskilling recruitment teams and enhanced data capture are just some of the efforts being made by the Police Uplift Programme in supporting all forces to improve police diversity.

48. It is vital that forces use all approaches available to them to deliver increased diversity including use of equalities legislation, including positive action provisions, to make better progress in terms of recruitment of under-represented groups. Retention and progression also play a crucial role in improving equality and diversity, particularly in enabling officers and staff to move into more senior and more specialised ranks and roles. In the year to March 2019, 6.0% of officers leaving the police were BAME and 25% were female.

49. The College of Policing has published Positive Action Practical Advice, a document which advises forces on the use of lawful positive action to support the recruitment, retention and progression of officers from under-represented groups.

50. The NPCC has published its 2018-2025 Diversity, Equality and Inclusion strategy. This is complemented by a workforce representation toolkit which includes practical actions forces can take to increase the recruitment, retention and progression of officers from under-represented groups in policing.

Diversity and Leadership

51. Through the National Policing Board, the Home Secretary has asked police leaders across the sector to come together to take a coordinated approach to making policing more representative, particularly with respect to making rapid progress on retention and progression. We welcome the work being taken forward by the NPCC and College of Policing to establish a Scrutiny Board consisting of leaders from across policing to drive action on inclusion and race equality.

IV. Police workforce reform

52. Workforce reform remains a priority for the Government and is a key strand of work in the Policing Vision 2025, agreed by police and crime commissioners and chief constables. Workforce reform will ensure the policing system has the capability, capacity and wellbeing support to meet the challenges of emerging and changing types of crime in an efficient and effective manner.

Pay reform

53. The Government is clear that progress must be made to reform police officer pay. The recent Spending Review provided an opportunity to reflect on the progress that has been made to reform police officer pay and develop a framework that is aligned to roles, competence and skills instead of one rooted in automatic, time-served progression; and to determine priorities for the coming years.

54. The NPCC has proposed implementing a pay progression standard by March 2022 that:

• Ensures a Professional Development Review (PDR) has been completed that confirms the officer remains operationally competent, because no formal capability process is in place.
• Confirms statutory and/or mandatory training has been completed.
• Where an officer manages others, that they have completed PDRs and made pay progression standard decisions on behalf of those they manage.

We ask the PRRB to consider and make recommendations on the NPCC’s proposals to introduce a ‘pay progression standard’ and the timetable for implementation.

55. We consider the NPCC’s proposals to introduce a pay progression standard a positive step forward that will help to drive up the importance of PDRs, line management and effective supervision, and officer development. This will support the drive to embed continuous professional development in policing and ensure officers are better supported throughout their career, as well as providing an objective basis for holding leaders to account for their performance and management skills. A workforce supported by robust performance management processes will be more capable and able to deliver more effective policing.

56. We recognise that robust and consistent PDR process are needed in forces and expect this to be considered and built into the timetable for implementation of the pay progression standard. We support the work being led by the College of Policing on developing guidance on effective supervision.

57. Determinations made under Police Regulations 2003 will require amendments to implement the pay progression standard and ensure appropriate exemptions are in place for those that cannot be assessed. It is important that equality and diversity issues are considered throughout the development of the pay progression standard and we expect a full Equality Impact Assessment to be completed and subject to ongoing review.

58. In the long-term, we continue to support the introduction of a reward structure that closely aligns pay to level of accountability, competence and skills. This will provide flexibility for skills, training and expertise gained outside of and within policing to be recognised through pay. Consistent national processes and job evaluations that will allow objective decisions to be made will be a key factor in the design of such a framework. We recognise that will require a culture of continuous professional development that will take time to become fully embedded.

59. In the last pay round, the PRRB considered proposals submitted by the NPCC on benchmarking of police officer pay and valuation of the ‘P factor’ and noted further work was required as there was disagreement between the parties as to the methodologies used. We agree with the Review Body’s observations that these differences need be resolved as it will be difficult to use the outputs of this work to inform decisions on pay without agreement. The NPCC will provide an update on the work that has been carried out to reach consensus between the parties. We ask the PRRB to provide updated commentary on this work.

Review of chief officer remuneration

60. We welcome the work that is being led by the NPCC and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) to review chief officer remuneration. The review is considering:

• Whether the base pay structure for Chief Constables and Deputy Chief Constables should be simplified and streamlined.
• The current pay scale for Assistant Chief Constables and its relationship with the Deputy Chief Constable and superintending ranks pay scales.
• The allowances and expenses currently available and/or paid to chief officers to determine if they remain appropriate.
• Development of a standardised contract for each rank to provide consistency across forces and increase transparency.

61. We welcome the views of the PRRB on the findings from the review and the areas that have been identified for further action. Alongside this work, the Home Office will also seek to address the HMICFRS recommendations included in its ‘Leading Lights’ (September 2019) report, looking into the role of the College of Policing in the senior recruitment process. We will work with stakeholders to address the issues raised through this review in relation to fixed term appointments for Deputy Chief Constables.

Entry routes

62. The College’s Policing Educational Qualifications Framework (PEQF) continues to raise the bar for police recruitment as well as recognise the high level at which the existing workforce operates. Its focus is on nationally accredited qualifications and the transferable skills required in a modern, agile service ensuring that policing can attract the brightest and best new recruits with a well-rounded career offer.

63. Apprenticeships are a crucial strand of the PEQF initiative, to provide a fair entry route into policing for those who do not hold a degree.

64. The other two other entry routes under the PEQF are for graduates of an accredited pre-join degree in policing and for other degree holders. When added to the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) these entry routes elevate police recruitment and initial training to graduate level. This recognises that changes in crime now demand officers to be able to apply transferable skills to a range of situations, applying problem-solving strategies and exercising personal judgement to these challenges which is a graduate level skill set.

65. Forces began to recruit PCDA officers from September 2018. 33 forces are expected to recruit officers through the PDCA route by the end of April 2021. By comparison, 28 forces are expected to recruit officers through the Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP) route by the end of April 2021.

66. Police Now continues to provide a fast-track graduate entry route into policing including their flagship National Graduate Leadership Programme as well as a National Detective Programme. In 2020/21, the Home Office provided Police Now with £7m for both neighbourhood and detective schemes for continued support in the drive to recruit 20,000 additional police officers.

Workforce morale and wellbeing

67. We continue to support officers’ wellbeing, acknowledging the challenging and demanding job they undertake. In July 2017, the Government awarded £7.5 million from the Police Transformation Fund over three years to develop a National Police Wellbeing Service, to complement the support already delivered at force level to serving police officers and staff, focussed on prevention and early intervention.

68. As a result, the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS) was launched in April 2019 and has developed evidence-based guidance, advice, tools and resources which can be accessed by forces, as well as individual officers and staff. These include resources to help forces to identify where there is most risk of impacts on mental health, and developing work around building resilience, as well as putting in place support for those who need it in response to traumatic events. We continue to work with the NPWS to evaluate their progress.

69. The NPWS has continued to build on existing work and has provided key wellbeing support throughout the pandemic. This includes establishing an online ‘Covid-19 hub,’ to ensure officers have been able to access the advice and information they need, that can support them with their wellbeing.

70. In September 2019, the Home Secretary set out her vision for a new Police Covenant, recognising the bravery and commitment of our police who work night and day to keep us safe. The Government ran an 8-week consultation, seeking views on the scope of the Covenant and our response was published in September 2020. The key areas of focus will be health and wellbeing, physical protection and support for families. We expect to establish a robust governance structure shortly and will be enshrining the Covenant in law, with provisions due to be introduced in Parliament later this session. This is part of an ambitious package of measures to strengthen protection for the police and the public through legislation.

71. The development of a Police Covenant follows the conclusion of the Home Office’s Front Line Review in July 2019, which highlighted concerns of police officers and staff and proposed a package of measures to reduce their workloads, ensure their wellbeing and give them a stronger voice in decision making.

72. In September 2020, the Government also announced its plans to double the maximum sentence for assaults on emergency workers from 12 months to two years, with provisions due to be introduced in Parliament later this session.

Talent management

73. Policing needs modern and responsive leadership at all levels in order to provide adequate levels of support and guidance to the workforce. This will be more crucial than ever with crime demands consistently shifting and as a cohort of new officers are recruited across all 43 forces.

74. It will be for the College of Policing to take a strong lead in setting clear national leadership standards and a national framework for professional development at all levels. Growing a consistently excellent standard of management and supervision across policing will enable new recruits and the talented officers and staff we already have to progress and to fulfil their potential.

75. To this end, the College has developed a Proof of Concept for a new National Police Leadership Centre to create standards and a new leadership development framework which will initially be tested for the rank of sergeant. We welcome this work, which will focus on clear national standards and a consistent national leadership offer for all, in particular underrepresented groups. It is envisaged that the Leadership Centre will corral existing leadership activity alongside new standards, much of which sits in the College’s Senior Leaders Hub.

76. We strongly support the breadth of work to look at the leadership of the service and the way in which leaders are selected and developed, including the plans for the Leadership Centre. Alongside this work, the Home Office will also seek to address the HMICFRS recommendations included in its ‘Leading Lights’ (September 2019) report, looking into the role of the College of Policing in the senior recruitment process.

Other developments

Flexible working arrangements for the superintending ranks

77. Determinations have been amended to provide flexible working opportunities for the superintending ranks and took effect in April 2020. We hope that this will open up opportunities for those with responsibilities outside of the workplace and increase diversity in these ranks.

Maternity and adoption leave

78. On 4 January, amendments to determinations took effect to extend the period of maternity and adoption leave with full pay from 18 to 26 weeks. Improvements to parental leave policies have been identified as having the potential to support both recruitment and retention by signalling the police service as a family friendly employer.

Parental bereavement leave

79. The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018 provides for at least one or two weeks’ leave for employees following the death of a child under the age of 18, or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. We have recently consulted on amendments to determinations so that the statutory entitlements for employees are also made available to police officers.

Targeted variable pay

80. In the last pay round, the NPCC submitted proposals to make the existing time- limited payments for hard to fill roles and demanding superintending roles a permanent discretionary pay lever. It was also proposed the use of such payments be extended to other ranks and their use widened to help retain officers in service critical roles.

81. We are keen that forces consider a range of strategies to understand and address issues with recruiting and retaining officers into hard to fill, service critical and demanding roles. We would also emphasise the importance of culture and leadership in tackling these issues, recognising that pay is unlikely to be the primary factor.

82. We recognise that recruitment and retention issues will vary across forces and that chief officers require flexibility to determine how payments are made. However, we agree with the Review Body’s observations that there should be some nationally agreed principles to ensure consistency of application across forces and to set out the circumstances in which payments may be made. This is key to ensuring the payments are made in a way that is open and transparent; address equality and diversity issues; and do not widen any existing pay gaps. Where possible, national data should be drawn upon to identify the roles that require a national and co- ordinated approach to be taken, with appropriate measures put in place to ensure recruitment and retention issues are not simply displaced elsewhere. We would stress the importance of defining and assessing which roles are deemed to be exceptionally demanding using a form of job evaluation to ensure consistency in approach both within and across forces. Similarly, consideration should be given to doing the same for hard to fill roles. Underrepresentation of those with protected characteristics within roles that attract additional payments should also be addressed as a priority.

83. We are working with the NPCC to ensure the Review Body’s observations are considered and addressed in guidance, ahead of formal consultation on amendments to determinations. Once implemented, we expect the use of these payments to be very closely monitored, robust data collected on how they are used and subject to formal review both locally and nationally. In the interim, the existing time-limited payments that were due to cease on 30 September 2020 have been extended to the end of the financial year.

V. Basic pay

84. The starting salary for police officers is between £21,402 and £24,780 for constables, depending on skills and experiences. Chief constables have the flexibility to appoint those joining on the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship scheme on a starting salary of between £18,912 and £24,780.

85. Median basic pay is close to the pay scale maximum of £41,130 for police constables. This reflects the fact that over 60% are on the top of the pay scale. A table setting out the headcount and salaries for each rank is provided in Annex B.

Additional allowances

86. In addition to basic pay, police officers in London receive London Weighting of £2,568 and London Allowance of up to £5,338 per annum. Officers in Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey or Thames Valley constabulary may receive regional allowances of up to £3,000 per annum. Those in Bedfordshire, Hampshire or Sussex constabulary may receive a regional allowance of up to £2,000 per annum. Up to 56,182^{[footnote 4]} officers may receive these allowances.

87. Officers meeting the relevant criteria may also receive additional allowances, for example:

• Unsocial Hours Allowance – 10% of hourly rate
• On Call Allowance – £20
• Away from Home Overnight Allowance - £50
• Hardship Allowance – £30
• Replacement Allowance (only available to officers who joined before September 1994, and rates have been frozen since then) – between £1,777.66 and £5,126.70
• Dog Handler’s Allowance - £2,400

Pay progression

88. Federated and superintending ranks, assistant chief constables, and commanders in the Metropolitan Police Service currently receive pay progression. However, policing is moving towards competence-based pay and ending the link between pay and time served.

89. Chief constables and deputy chief constables receive a spot rate salary, which is determined by the size of the force and level of crime demand.

90. Police officers who have not reached the top of their pay scale receive annual incremental pay of at least 2% in addition to any annual pay awards depending on rank and experience. This is dependent upon an officer’s performance having been graded as either ‘satisfactory’ or above in the annual appraisal. Dependent on satisfactory performance, a constable will typically reach the top of their pay scale in 5-7 years; other ranks in 3-4 years.

91. As most officers are on the top pay point, they no longer receive progression pay. Most police officers enter as police constables. A typical constable will receive a salary of £41,130 within 7 years of joining.

Pensions

92. Police officers are entitled to membership of a defined benefit pension scheme. Members benefit from employer contributions of 31.3% of their pay towards their pensions on top of their own contribution. Each year a member earns a slice of pension, currently at the rate of 1/55.3 of their pay for that year. All contributing members can retire with their pension by age 60. The majority can take a pension sooner, but this may be partial or with a reduction for early payment.

93. The pension also comes with ancillary benefits, for example, spouse/partner pensions, child pensions and a death in service lump sum.

McCloud/Sergeant legal cases

94. The Court of Appeal in McCloud/Sergeant legal cases ruled that transitional protection arrangements in the 2015 public service pension schemes gave rise to unlawful age discrimination in the judges’ and firefighters’ pension schemes. The Government respects the Court’s decision and has confirmed that it will remove the discrimination identified across all of the main public service pension schemes, including the police scheme. We have also confirmed that any necessary changes to pension arrangements will apply to all affected members with relevant service, not just those who have lodged legal claims. The Government recently undertook a public consultation on proposals to address the discrimination which involves giving members a choice of whether to receive their legacy or reformed scheme benefits for the relevant period. We are currently considering the responses received and will publish the analysis of the responses shortly. Any resulting changes to the pension schemes will be subject to consultation with policing partners

95. Claims against the police pension scheme (the Aarons case) which had been previously stayed behind the McCloud/Sargeant judgment have now been unstayed and a case management hearing was held on 28 October 2019. The next hearing takes place in December 2021.

Other

96. Officers receive a minimum of 22 days of annual leave, rising with service to 30 days, plus bank holidays as well as flexible working schedules and career breaks.

97. Further benefits include enhanced maternity pay and leave and parental support pay (up to two weeks), paid allowances to compensate for disruption to family life and the demands of the role, and sick leave on full pay for up to six months.

VI. Data provision

Published data

98. Published workforce data is available here. This includes data on: workforce numbers; promotions; joiners and leavers; age, sex and ethnicity; police functions; long term absence; recuperative and adjusted/restricted duties; and length of service.

99. The Home Office also publishes quarterly statistics on the progress towards recruiting an additional 20,000 officers here.

Police workforce and pay census

100. The Police Workforce Census collects data on the number of police officers at each pay point by rank and the numbers receiving allowances and overtime, as at the end of March each year. This data is not currently published but is provided to the PRRB secretariat separately.

101. Forces receive a tailored highlight report, that summarises the pay data they have provided and how this compares with other forces. The reports include data on officer demographics, total pay, basic pay, overtime and allowances.

102. We continue to engage with police practitioners to improve the quality of census and workforce data returns and resolve issues around completion. We are grateful to payroll and Human Resources staff in forces for their contribution to the process.

Improving police workforce data

103. We are committed to improving the quality of workforce data. The Workforce Data Group, a sub-group of the NPCC Workforce Co-ordination Committee, is made up of representatives from the College of Policing, Home Office, the APCC, HMICFRS, police forces, staff associations, trade unions and other stakeholders such as the Police Staff Council.

104. Workforce data used effectively at a national and local level will help to understand workforce composition, capacity, capability and condition to inform policy decisions, enabling planning for now and the future, both at a local and national level.

105. The Workforce Data Group’s priorities are to:

• Oversee the development of a Workforce Data Strategy, that sets out the key questions the service needs to understand of its workforce, gap analysis on the current data and route map for development of the Workforce Census.
• Co-ordinate the development of workforce data sets, based on the route map to develop a prioritised road map to expand workforce data to enable effective analysis to inform workforce policy.
• Design and support the implementation of data standards, a framework against agreed categories that provides consistency of data reporting, but granularity that can inform current and future priorities in order to ensure consistency across forces.
• Quality assurance for a co-ordinated approach for data collection, assurance and analysis.

Annex A: Home Secretary’s remit letter

An accessible version of the Home Secretary’s remit letter is available from Remit letter to the Police Remuneration Review Body: 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK.

Annex B: Police officer numbers and salaries by rank

Federated ranks

Rank	Full-time equivalent[footnote 5]	Salary (minimum)	Salary (maximum)
Constables	101,415	£18,912 - £24,780 depending on entry route, skills and experience	£41,130
Sergeants	18,826	£43,965	£46,227
Inspectors	5,654	£52,698, £55,005 (in London)	£57,162, £59,940 (in London)
Chief Inspectors	1,732	£58,332, £60,654 (in London)	£60,732, £63,048 (in London)

Superintending ranks

Rank	Full-time equivalent	Salary (minimum)	Salary (maximum)
Superintendents	937	£70,173	£82,881
Chief Superintendents	315	£86,970	£91,749

Chief officers

Rank	Full-time equivalent	Salary (minimum)	Salary (maximum)
Total	231[footnote 6]
Assistant Chief Constables	-	£105,600	£119,220
Deputy Chief Constables*	-	-	£122,628 - £156,693
Chief Constables*	-	-	£146,469 - £204,372

Chief officers (London)

Rank	Full-time equivalent	Salary (minimum)	Salary (maximum)
Commanders	-	£105,600	£119,220
Deputy Assistant Commissioners*	-		£156,693
(Metropolitan Police only)
Assistant Commissioner* City of London Police Metropolitan Police	-		£149,475 £204,372
Deputy Commissioner* (Metropolitan Police only)			£241,842
Commissioner* Metropolitan Police City of London Police			£292,938 £181,221

*Pay for chief officer ranks is determined by the size of the force and level of crime demand

1. Crime in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics. ↩

2. State of Policing: The Annual Assessment of Policing in England and Wales 2019. ↩

3. Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2020 third edition - GOV.UK. ↩

4. As at 31 March 2020. ↩

5.   Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2020 third edition - GOV.UK. ↩

6. Chief officer numbers are aggregated. ↩