Statement from Angus Macpherson, Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon
Since 2010, pay for the public sector has been frozen and then capped at one per cent.
With the private sector becoming more buoyant, Wiltshire Police will find it increasingly difficult to recruit the high calibre people it needs.
We are asking officers and staff to keep Wiltshire and Swindon safe from an increased range of threats – whilst knowing that they are significantly worse off than they were in 2010.
So I believe the pay review body should recommend a settlement above the 1% cap and I believe the Government should honour it.
There is something else the Government should do. Under the present system, we end up worse off every year because the cost of running Wiltshire Police goes up, but the money we receive does not.
So if the pay review body recommends lifting the cap, and if the Government is going to accept such a move, that increase will need to be reflected in the funding we get from the home office.
