The Metropolitan Police has played a crucial role during the pandemic in protecting Londoners and especially those in vulnerable communities.
Today the London Assembly agreed a motion to ask the Government to urgently review its decision to award Police Officers a 0% pay increase. It also shared the concerns of the National Police Chiefs’ Council that the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) is no longer fit for purpose nor independent of the Government.
Unmesh Desai AM, who proposed the motion said:
“Police officers have put themselves in harm’s way and gone beyond the call of duty throughout the pandemic to keep Londoners safe.
“It has been shocking to see that despite this, Met Police officers have been handed a pay freeze. This is nothing short of an insult and is completely out of sync with how they are valued by the public.
“Our overstretched officers deserve better and the Government must urgently reconsider its decision and give them a fair pay rise”.
The full text of the motion is:
This Assembly notes that Metropolitan Police officers have played a vital role during the pandemic, helping to protect public health and continuing to put themselves at risk to keep Londoners safe. Police officers will play an essential role in tackling violent crime and addressing the disproportionate impact of violence upon London’s BAME communities now that Covid-19 health restrictions have been lifted.
This Assembly notes that the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) is tasked by the Home Secretary who did not seek recommendation from the PRRB for police officer pay uplifts in 2021/22. The PRRB’s conclusions have led to the Police Federation of England and Wales to withdraw its support and engagement from the body and to pass a motion of no confidence in the Home Secretary.
The Metropolitan Police Federation described the decision not to award a pay increase as “an appalling way to treat the men and women who have risked everything to police the last 18 months” and expressed that police officers “feel betrayed by a Government that promised to back our police service.”
This Assembly is shocked by the Police Remuneration Review Body’s decision to offer a 0% pay increase to Police Officers and share the concerns of the National Police Chiefs Council that this body is no longer fit for purpose nor independent of the Government.
This Assembly therefore calls on the Government to urgently review its decision to award Police Officers a 0% pay increase.”
Notes to editors
- Watch the full webcast.
- The motion was agreed by unanimously.
- Unmesh Desai AM who proposed the original motion, is available for interviews.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For media enquiries, please contact Funmi Olutoye on 07849 308 317. For out of hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer.