15/01/2013

Police Starting Pay To Be Cut By £4,000

The starting salary for police constables is being cut to £19,000, a drop of £4,000, the home secretary has confirmed.

Following proposals last year for an overhaul of police pay, conditions and allowances, Theresa May has accepted recommendations made by the Police Arbitration Tribunal.

The Police Federation says it is "disappointed" by the announcement.

Ex-rail regulator Tom Winsor, the review's author, was appointed last year as the Chief Inspector of Constabulary for England and Wales, the first non-policeman named to the post.

He recommended £1bn could be cut from police pay.

It is understood that the starting salary would be £19,000 for recruits with no policing experience but £22,000 for more experienced officers, such as those who have worked as special constables or PCSOs.

Mrs May said: "These reforms build on the changes we implemented [in January last year].

"They continue our programme to modernise... pay and conditions so that they are fair to both officers and the taxpayer. They include measures to re-target pay to reward contribution, increase local flexibility and make important structural changes to enable further reform."

(H)


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