§ Mr. HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will revise the income supplements provided to police officers in Sussex, based on an analysis of comparative costs of living in Kent, Surrey and Sussex. [12038]
§ Mr. DenhamIn February this year, the police negotiating board (PNB)) reached agreement on a recommendation to the Secretary of State for the Home Department that officers in eight south-east police forces appointed after 1 September 1994 and not in receipt of housing allowance should receive a new allowance. The PNB recommended that qualifying officers in Kent and Surrey should receive an allowance of £2,000 a year and qualifying officers in Sussex should receive 1,000 a year. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary approved the recommendation of the PNB.
320WThe PNB is the statutory negotiating body for police pay and conditions of service, with representatives from all the main police organisations, including the Police Federations, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities. It would be for the PNB in the first instance to consider whether the allowance awarded to qualifying officers in Sussex should be revised.