§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on pay and responsibilities for the rank of chief inspector within the police service. [72866]
§ Mr. DenhamIt is for the Secretary of State to determine the pay of police officers of all ranks in England and Wales. In doing so, he is required to take into account any recommendation made by the Police Negotiating Board (PNB), the statutory negotiating body, 27W on which all the main police organisations are represented, including the Police Federation, which represents the interests of chief inspectors.
There is a national salary scale for chief inspectors. Currently, there are five points on the chief inspectors' scale, ranging from £39,153 to £42,309 outside London, and from £40,761 to £43,911 in London. Where individual chief inspectors are placed on that scale depends on a number of factors, including when they attained the rank of chief inspector, the length of time they have spent as chief inspectors and the length of time they spent in the rank of inspector.
Under a PNB Agreement reached on 9 May, and approved by the Secretary of State, changes to the pay scale of chief inspectors will be implemented from 1 April 2003. With effect from that date, there will be only three salary points for chief inspectors, one for chief inspectors who were in post on 31 August 1994, and two for all other chief inspectors. Chief inspectors who were in post on 31 August 1994 will receive £42,711 outside London and £44,313 in London. All other chief inspectors will start on £40,362 (£41,973 in London), the first point of the scale, and then progress to £41,973 (£42,780 in London). Once they have completed a year at the top of their scale, chief inspectors will be eligible for the new competence-related payment of £1,002 a year.
Chief inspectors perform a range of duties and responsibilities, and while many of the activities are common, there will be different responsibilities for operational and detective officers. All officers in the rank of chief inspector are required to exhibit leadership and management qualities and to take on responsibility for community safety and local crime initiatives, which includes developing local crime and disorder strategies. Operations chief inspectors would be responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring local crime and disorder plans, for formulating contingency plans for major incidents, and for managing public order and major incidents. Detective Chief Inspectors would primarily be responsible for managing and advising on criminal investigations.