Costs and PCC pay
What extra costs are involved?
The government is clear that the only significant extra cost of the new policy will be the cost of elections. We estimate the elections will cost £75m and this money will not come from funds that would otherwise have gone to forces. Democracy is a justifiable cost.
It is worth noting that the cost of elections amounts to only 0.15 per cent of total police funding during the tenure of the PCC. The government is confident that this money will deliver more effective and efficient policing governance, as PCCs will be subject to a sharp incentive to deliver genuine efficiencies through their direct accountability to the public they serve.
How much will a PCC get paid?
Police and crime commissioners pay - the Home Secretary's response to the senior salaries review board
Police and crime commissioners (PCC) will need to be highly motivated, determined to deliver the best for the communities that they serve, and above all be focused on making our communities safe.
We want to ensure that a suitable and proportionate remuneration is achieved for such a challenging and rewarding role.
The Home Secretary has laid a written ministerial statment outlining police and crime commissioners' pay where she has agreed all but one of the recommendations put forward by the senior salaries review board report (SSRB) on PCC pay.
In summary, pay levels for PCCs should reflect the importance and the full-time, demanding nature of the role. Pay levels take account of the size of police force, value of annual budget, total population and geographical area.
However, police budgets are constrained and the salaries for PCCs should not be disproportionate to those for other elected posts.
The Home Secretary agreed with the SSRB that PCCs will not receive performance related pay however after careful consideration the recommendation to reduce a PPC's pay pro-rata if they do not carry out the role on a full time basis was not accepted, rather PCCs will be expected to declare any paid or unpaid interests that may conflict with their role or affect the amount of time they have to devote to it.
Pay as follows:
£100,000
West Midlands, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire£85,000
Thames Valley, Merseyside, Northumbria, Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire, Devon & Cornwall, South Yorks, Essex, Avon & Somerset, Sussex, South Wales£75,000
Nottinghamshire, Hertfordshire, West Mercia, Cheshire, Humberside, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire£70,000
Surrey, Norfolk, Cleveland, Durham, Cambridgeshire, North Wales, North Yorks, Gwent, Northamptonshire, Suffolk, Dorset, Wiltshire, Bedfordshire£65,000
Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire, Cumbria, Warwickshire, Dyfed-PowysWhy is there such a large difference in pay scales - £65k - £100k? How has the salary of a PCC in a particular force area been decided?
Striking the right balance on PCC pay is important in terms of attracting suitable candidates but avoiding extravagance with public money and addressing the fact that force budgets are constrained.
The salary range has been adjusted to represent differences in force weighting and policing challenges and has been aligned but is not equal to chief constable salaries. The policing challenges a PCC faces will be different depending on the specific needs and demands of the force area.
Why are PCC's being paid so much less than a chief constable?
Level of pay should not be the key motivation for standing for any elected office. As the SSRB states, remuneration for democratically elected posts are generally lower than for appointed executive posts. Senior appointments such as chief constables are made on the basis of having fulfilled a number of requirements for qualifications and experience and the nature of the job in hand.
It is necessary to pay salaries which are not only competitive in labour market terms to attract suitable candidates but also reflect the professional challenge, risk and size of the force that is managed on a daily basis by our chief constables.
How does the PCC salary compare to that of the chair of a police authority?
Each police authority determines the level of any expenses or allowances paid and this is governed by regulation 29 of the Police Authority Regulations 2008. According to the SSRB?s report on PCC salaries the Chairs of Police Authorities receive allowances for undertaking their duties, which range from £14,000 to £33,993. This does not include what police authority members receive in allowances.What allowances and expenses can a PCC claim?
Although the Home Secretary has the power to set the allowances and expenses that a PCC may claim, expenses are expected to be reimbursed using the HMRC standard rates. We have not asked the SSRB to consider PCC expenses we will follow the general approach taken by the London Mayor and other assembly members to agree standard reimbursement rates consistent with the approved HMRC rates for all PCCs.
This will ensure consistency in the expenses regime and avoid tying the PCC into the local authority mechanisms for setting and agreeing expenses locally.
What will the pension benefits be for the role of PCC?
PCCs will have access to local government pension schemes, if they wish to take advantage of this.What other benefits will a PCC be entitled to?
The government has no intention to define a benefits package for PCCs that extends beyond the PCC salary and their on costs.Will PCCs be able to get a bonus or performance related pay?
We do not believe it would be appropriate for PCCs to receive performance related pay. The performance of PCCs should be judged only by the electorate. The SSRB agree with this approach and it forms part of their recommendations.