§ 3.15 p.m.
§ LORD DERWENTMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Press reports are correct that many police chief inspectors lose income by being promoted to the rank of superintendent.]
§ THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE, HOME OFFICE (LORD STONHAM)My Lords, it is possible, in particular circumstances, for a chief inspector on promotion to superintendent to receive less by way of total remuneration, although not by way of pensionable pay. This is because, in some forces where there is a serious shortage of manpower, chief inspectors work some or all of their additional rest days, for which they receive substantial overtime payments; these can bring their total remuneration above the minimum for superintendents, who do not share the rest-day arrangements of the federated ranks. Also, detective chief inspectors receive special allowances which may bring their remuneration above that of the superintendents' minimum. Two improvements which had the effect of increasing the total remuneration of chief inspectors, but not of superintendents—namely, the reduction of the working week from 44 to 42 hours in July, 1964, and the introduction of substantial supplementary 202 detective allowances in September, 1964—have accentuated this particular problem.
§ LORD DERWENTMy Lords, I am obliged to the noble Lord for that full reply. I have two supplementary questions, and perhaps I should ask them one at a time. First, can the noble Lord give the House any idea, for example in the Metropolitan Police area, how much more a detective chief inspector may get than a superintendent, bearing in mind that in the Metropolitan Police area, I believe, they are all superintendents, Class 1? I am assuming, of course, that a detective chief inspector earns the maximum. Can the noble Lord give the figures?
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, as the noble Lord will be aware, it entirely depends on the amount of overtime which a chief inspector works. The differential in pay between a chief inspector and a superintendent, Class 1, is £455 a year. A uniformed chief inspector, if he works all his 35 rest days and has all the possibilities of overtime, can earn £451 a year above his salary. If he is a detective chief inspector and exercises all possible allowance opportunities, he can earn an additional £393.
§ LORD DERWENTMy Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lord. My other supplementary question is this. Do Her Majesty's Government fully appreciate the extreme urgency of this matter, in view of the current reorganisation in many police forces, and what do Her Majesty's Government intend to do to remedy this bit of nonsense?
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, it is certainly a very important matter, particularly to the officers concerned. But as the noble Lord will be aware, this is essentially a matter for the negotiating body—the Police Council of Great Britain—which is about to initiate a pay review. The facts to which the noble Lord, Lord Derwent, has drawn attention are bound to figure prominently in the minds of the members of the Police Council. For obvious reasons I cannot comment further, although I would add that the remedy must lie, at least in part, in improving recruitment, and thus reducing the excessive amount of overtime which some chief inspectors are called upon to work.