§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the starting salary is for police officers in(a) London and (b) the rest of the UK; after how long a new police officer will receive a pay rise; and if he will make a statement on police pay with special reference to rises they have had since 1997, and pay rises they will receive. [27672]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 18 January 2002]: A police officer will earn £17,733 on recruitment, rising to £19,842 upon completion of initial training, which is generally after 32 weeks. Police officers in London, who joined after 1 September 1994 and who are not in receipt of housing allowance, receive an additional London allowance of £4,338 plus London weighting of £1,773.
Police pay is increased annually by reference to the median percentage of the manpower index of non-manual private sector workers. In 1997 the increase was 3.5 per cent, in 1998, 4 per cent, in 1999, 3.6 per cent, in 2000, 3 per cent. and in 2001, 3.5 per cent.
Police officers progress up their pay scales by annual increments until they reach the top of their scale.