Following the announcement by BCH HR on the intranet we have been contacted by a number of members over the issue of the increase in the SE Allowance.
The SE Allowance was introduced in 2001 to recognise the additional cost of living in the SE of England. Its purpose was to ease issues of recruitment and retention in those forces to which it applied. It has not been increased since then.
In 2008 Sara Thornton the then Chief of TVP lobbied for the ability to increase the allowance as she was facing retention problems. It was agreed at the Police Negotiating Board that it could be increased but this was overtaken by the Winsor Review and was never actioned.
The Pay Review Body’s second report included the ability for Chief Officers, at their discretion, to increase the SE Allowance by £1,000 for Beds Officers.
There is no new money from the Government for this – any increase must be met from within the budget.
The key point for us is set out at 3.43 within the document which says;
The level of increase needs to be sufficient to have the required recruitment and retention impact and we therefore agree that the maxima should be increased to £1,000 and £2,000 respectively. Chief officers have the ability to set the allowances up to the maxima but in doing so they would need firm evidence of local recruitment and retention issues and an assessment of local affordability.
Following the release of the report some weeks ago I met with Chief Constable Boutcher and the Head of Finance to discuss implementing this in Bedfordshire. Our opinion is that we fully support this increase due to the financial difficulties being faced by our members and as such after the report was released some weeks ago I met with the Chief Constable to discuss implementing this.
Mr Boutcher is keen to support this and this is now very much under consideration but there are discussions to be had with Chief Officer team within the tri-force alliance, particularly as Herts already receive £2000.00 which could be increased to £3000.00 whereas Cambs do not qualify for any South East allowance, as such this may be problematic within Joint Protective Services. The PCC who ultimately owns the budget will also need to agree.
Our position is that we feel our members need this increase, after years of effective pay cuts. Our concern is that if this money has to come from existing budgets that it would have a negative impact on staffing levels and service to the public of Bedfordshire – which is something none of us want. Equally there is the ability for Chief Officers to apply any increase to particular areas, either role or geographical, rather than across the board. This may turn out to be the only option available and might cause difficulties.
In conclusion, we are pleased to see that the Force is actively considering the matter but as you can see there are a few challenges to be met before the issue is resolved, but please be reassured that your Federation is and has been seeking to progress this.
