HC Deb 02 August 1956 vol 557 cc1575-6
20. Lieut.-Colonel Lipton

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the results are to date of his consultation with police authorities about back-dating to September the pay increases recommended by the December arbitration award.

Mr. Deedes

The consultations which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. and gallant Friend are having with the police authorities are still in progress, and it would be premature for him to make a statement about them at this stage.

Lieut.-Colonel Lipton

Can the Joint Under-Secretary say whether any police authority has yet objected to the backdating of the pay, and, in particular, what is the attitude of the police authority in London in this matter?

Mr. Deedes

I am very anxious to say nothing which will prejudice the conduct of these negotiations, which we are anxious to terminate as quickly as possible, but I am bound to add that the assumption made that all the authorities concerned were, from the start, agreeable that the pay should be retrospective is not a correct assumption. That is why the consultations are having to take place now.

Mr. H. Morrison

In view of the rather long-drawn-out nature of this matter, and the fact that the Secretary of State did not handle it particularly well, although I realise that consultations with the local police authorities must go on, will the hon. Member urge upon the Secretary of State that, having got so far, and it being perfectly clear that the Government are morally committed to the principle of back pay, he should do all he can to hurry this matter along, otherwise there is bound to be a sense of injustice among the police?

Mr. Deedes

I accept the need for urgency which the right hon. Gentleman stresses, but he knows quite well that there must be consultation at this stage. The object should be to conclude it as quickly as possible.

Mr. Anthony Greenwood

In view of the fact that members of the fire services and probation services are affected in the same way as the police, can the hon. Member say whether he proposes to hold consultations with representatives of those services as well? Will he welcome any approach from them upon this issue?

Mr. Deedes

That is a separate question, which I should like to look into.