§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the ring-fenced allowance is for the officers involved in diplomatic protection, surveillance, undercover and kidnap work. [44026]
§ Mr. DenhamOn 9 May 2002, the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) agreed a package of reforms to police pay and conditions of service. The PNB is the statutory negotiating body for police pay and conditions throughout the United Kingdom.
The possibility of a ring-fenced allowance for officers involved in diplomatic protection, surveillance, undercover and kidnap work was an idea considered during the negotiations in the PNB when it was proposed to reduce premium rates of pay. Officers in those four areas would have been hardest hit from reductions in premium rates of pay, and, because the nature of their work requires them to stay on duty for long periods at a time, a ring-fenced allowance would have been one means
696W
Police grant National non domestic rates Revenue support grant Crime Fighting fund Rural Policing grant Total £ £ £ £ £ £ 2000–01 55,134 23,544 12,877 530 794 92,878 2001–02 56,440 22,970 14,314 1,836 1,552 97,111 2002–031 56,342 25,089 11,971 2,642 1,553 97,597 of protecting their earnings. The Agreement reached on 9 May 2002 does not include any reductions to premium rates of pay, so there is no need for a ring-fenced allowance.
The Agreement included a scheme to manage down overtime in the service. There will be a service-wide target of a 15 per cent reduction in the overtime bill over the three years from 2003–04. There will be local targets, taking account of force strength and effective management action already taken to manage down the overtime bill.