HC Deb 04 May 1989 vol 152 c237W
Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish(a) the full details of the police arbitration tribunal award of March as it relates to the introduction of the community charge and police officers' allowances and (b) the likely costs of this section of the award in 1990–91.

Mr. Douglas Hogg

The terms of the arbitration award were as follows:

  1. (a) No provision should be made by the police authorities to undertake payment of the community charge levied on police officers or their wives;
  2. (b) the present system of rent and rates allowances and compensatory grants should be remodelled as explained in our general considerations set out above; and
  3. (c) the process should take effect from April 1989 in Scotland and from April 1990 in England and Wales and also in Northern Ireland, as far as is practicable, bearing in mind that the community charge is not likely to be introduced there on that date.

In its general considerations the tribunal concluded that the new police housing allowance, which is to replace the present rent allowance, should be determined for each force by taking the current bill, which has been expressed as for rent and rates, and dividing it by the number of officers concerned".

It will not be possible to calculate the costs of the award until the negotiations on a number of issues which the tribunal passed back to the police negotiating board for further consideration have been concluded.