Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2023 to Question 191943, whether she has plans to hold discussions with chief constables on police officers (a) facing in-work poverty and (b) using food banks.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, like all employers, have a duty to manage and support their officers. It is therefore the responsibility of individual forces to provide financial wellbeing services where they consider it is appropriate to do so.
On 13 July 2023, the Government announced that it had accepted the recommendations of the Police Remuneration Review Body to award a consolidated increase of 7% to all ranks up to and including assistant chief constable and commander with effect from 1 September 2023. The Government also awarded the same increase to chief constables, deputy chief constables and ranks above commander in the Metropolitan Police Service and City of London Police.
The Government also accepted the PRRB’s recommendation to remove the lowest pay point for constables, bringing starting salaries up to £28,551.
The Government has been clear in its commitment to support the wellbeing of our police, through continuing to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service and introducing a Police Covenant. We will continue to work closely with policing partners and help Chief Constables in their duty to support their workforce effectively.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has held recent discussions with Chief Constables on police officers (a) facing in-work poverty and (b) making use of food banks.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) considers and makes recommendations to the Government on the appropriate level of pay and allowances for police officers. The PRRB gathers and invites parties to submit evidence to inform its recommendations. This includes both written and oral evidence from the Government, police employers and police staff associations. It weighs the evidence, considers independent research, and formulates detailed recommendations. The Government values its independent and expert advice.
The Government is very carefully considering the Review Body’s recommendations for the 2023/24 pay award.
This Government is committed to supporting the police workforce. The Police Covenant, established in law in 2022, will ensure police officers and staff are supported. We will continue to work closely with policing partners to identify and address the key priorities for officer and staff health and wellbeing.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of pay for police officers on levels of corruption.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) considers and makes recommendations to the Government on the appropriate level of pay and allowances for police officers. The PRRB gathers and invites parties to submit evidence to inform its recommendations. This includes both written and oral evidence from the Government, police employers and police staff associations. It weighs the evidence, considers independent research, and formulates detailed recommendations. The Government values its independent and expert advice.
The Government is very carefully considering the Review Body’s recommendations for the 2023/24 pay award.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2023 to Question 184944, Prison Service: Dismissal, what proportion of prison staff aged 60 or over were dismissed from service because of medical inefficiency in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Information on the proportion of staff, aged 60 and over in HM Prisons (including YCS) who left for reasons of ‘Dismissal - Unsatisfactory attendance’ or ‘Dismissal - Medical Inefficiency’ is given in the table below. Between January 2017 and December 2019, cases of ‘Dismissal - Medical Inefficiency’ were recorded as ‘Dismissal - Unsatisfactory attendance’ on our internal reporting system, and so these have been combined in the response throughout the time series.
Table 1: Proportion of prison staff aged 60+1 who were dismissed due to medical inefficiency/unsatisfactory attendance2, from 01 April to 31 March; 2013/14 to 2022/23 |
(headcount)
Financial Year | Proportion of prison staff aged 60+ dismissed due to medical inefficiency/unsatisfactory attendance |
2013/14 | 1.7% |
2014/15 | 2.1% |
2015/16 | 1.8% |
2016/17 | 2.1% |
2017/18 | 1.0% |
2018/19 | 1.3% |
2019/20 | 1.8% |
2020/21 | 1.2% |
2021/22 | 1.5% |
2022/23 | 2.3% |
Notes
1. Age as at time of leaving
2. From January 2017 to December 2019, information regarding dismissals as a result of medical inefficiencies were recorded as unsatisfactory attendances. Therefore, these categories have been combined here throughout the timeseries.
Prison officers are part of the Civil Service Pension Scheme which has a pension age linked to the individuals state pensions age – this is between 65 and 68 depending on their date of birth. This is the same for HMPPS in England and Wales as it is for the Scottish Prison Service.
This is a defined benefit scheme which pays a pension for life without investment uncertainties. It has one of the lower employee contribution rates across the public sector, whilst employer contributions are 27%
Whilst the fire and police service pensions have a lower retirement age of 60, members of these schemes pay between 12% and 14% contributions, whereas prison officers pay only 5.45%
HMPPS takes very seriously the health and safety of all prison staff – whatever their age. All prison officers who joined the service after April 2001 must pass an annual fitness test in order to remain a prison officer.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies on public sector pay awards of the increase in the Bank of England base rate to five per cent.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The independent Pay Review Bodies (PRBs) provide recommendations on the pay awards for most frontline workforces including teachers, armed forces, and police officers. The PRBs consider a range of evidence when forming their recommendations, including the economic context facing the UK; and the Government’s inflation target.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the case of Miller v College of Policing, what steps they are taking to ensure that police forces in England and Wales pay due regard to freedom of speech in the discharge of their responsibilities in respect of allegations of criminal activity arising from social media communication.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
To address the Miller v College of Policing judgment and wider concerns relating to the recording of non-crime hate incidents, the Government has introduced a statutory code of practice on this recording for police officers in England and Wales, as provided for in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
The code, which entered into effect on 3 June following Parliamentary approval, introduces a new threshold test that means that personal data may only be included in a non-crime hate incident record if the event is clearly motivated by intentional hostility and there is a risk of escalation causing significant harm or a criminal offence. The code will ensure non-crime hate incidents are only recorded when it is absolutely necessary and proportionate to do so, and not simply because someone is offended.
This Government is confident that the code strikes the right balance between better protecting people’s fundamental right to freedom of expression, whilst enabling the police to continue to protect vulnerable people and communities.
Reported hate crimes will continue to be recorded in line with the College of Policing’s operational guidance on hate crime.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many ministerial red boxes belonging to his Department have (a) been reported missing or lost or (b) had their security features removed in order that they can be purchased for personal use by former ministers from 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2023.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Departmental Security Unit records and investigates each reported loss from the Department. If appropriate, the police are invited to undertake further inquiries. It is a long standing convention under successive administrations that Ministers may pay to retain red boxes as a memento of their time in their role, as long as the security features are removed.
No ministerial boxes have been reported lost or missing to the Department’s Security Unit since 2018. One ministerial box has been purchased and the security feature was removed.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many ministerial red boxes belonging to her Department have (a) been reported missing or lost or (b) had their security features removed in order that they can be purchased for personal use by former ministers from 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2023.
Answered by John Whittingdale
There have been no missing or lost ministerial red boxes from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and no red boxes which have had their security features removed between 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2023.
The departmental security unit records and investigates each reported loss from the Department. If appropriate, the police are invited to undertake further inquiries.
It is a long standing convention under successive administrations that Ministers may pay to retain red boxes as a memento of their time in their role, as long as the security features are removed.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the requirements regarding (1) appointment procedures, and (2) financial remuneration, for Deputy Police Commissioners.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold information on the annual cost of Police and Crime Commissioners which includes pay, employer pension and national insurance contributions and expenses. However, the total basic pay cost of PCCs annually is approximately £3m. PCCs are under a duty to publish information relating to their salary, allowances, the composition of their office and the salaries of their senior staff on an annual basis.
The Home Office does not hold information on the annual cost of Deputy Police and Crime Commissioners. The appointment, pay and other arrangements for Deputy Police and Crime Commissioners is a matter for each Police and Crime Commissioner. As the locally elected representative for policing, they are ultimately responsible for balancing their budget and making decisions about the size and composition of their offices.
Police and Crime Commissioners are required to seek the views of their local Police and Crime Panel before appointing a Deputy, and other senior staff, as set out in Schedule 1 to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the annual cost of Police and Deputy Police Commissioners for each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold information on the annual cost of Police and Crime Commissioners which includes pay, employer pension and national insurance contributions and expenses. However, the total basic pay cost of PCCs annually is approximately £3m. PCCs are under a duty to publish information relating to their salary, allowances, the composition of their office and the salaries of their senior staff on an annual basis.
The Home Office does not hold information on the annual cost of Deputy Police and Crime Commissioners. The appointment, pay and other arrangements for Deputy Police and Crime Commissioners is a matter for each Police and Crime Commissioner. As the locally elected representative for policing, they are ultimately responsible for balancing their budget and making decisions about the size and composition of their offices.
Police and Crime Commissioners are required to seek the views of their local Police and Crime Panel before appointing a Deputy, and other senior staff, as set out in Schedule 1 to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.