HC Deb 01 February 2002 vol 379 c574W
Mr. Nicholas Winterton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the proposed introduction of(a) threshold payments, (b) special priority payments and (c) bonus payments to police officers; and what representations he has received from the Police Federation about the additional payments element of the Police Reform Programme. [30112]

Mr. Denham

The Police Negotiating Board (PNB), on which both the Secretary of State and the Police Federation are represented, reached agreement in principle on 27 December 2001 on a package of changes to police pay and conditions of service. The changes are set out in the Heads of Agreement.

The changes include a new competence-related payment of £1,002 at the top of each of the federated ranks' pay scales. It is expected that at least 75 per cent. of those eligible—that is, those who have spent at least a year at the top of the scale—will receive the payment.

Under the new special priority payments scheme, officers could qualify for one-off payments of between £500 and £5,000 a year. Chief officers and police authorities will draw up a local scheme of payments, in consultation with local staff associations, having regard to national criteria and to guidance from the Secretary of State. The national criteria are that posts carry a significantly higher responsibility than the norm for the rank; or are particularly difficult to fill; or have specially arduous working conditions. All parties in PNB recognise that there are a number of specialist posts where long hours are a necessary and integral part of the officers' role rather than due to management failure.

In addition, chief constables will be able to award bonuses of between £50 and £500 for occasional work of an outstandingly demanding, unpleasant or important nature, such as hostage negotiation, or fingerprinting and searching badly decomposed bodies.

The Police Federation was party to the negotiations in PNB when it had the opportunity to make representations on all the proposed new payments.

The Heads of Agreement have to be ratified by the end of February.