Policy paper

Home Office evidence to the Police Remuneration Review Body, 2026 to 2027 (accessible)

Published 27 March 2026

Applies to England and Wales

Executive summary

1. The government values the vital contribution of police officers across the country who work tirelessly to keep us safe every single day.

2.The government’s white paper, ‘From local to national: a new model for policing’^{[footnote 1]} sets out a comprehensive package of reforms to policing that aim to create a police service that is more rooted in local communities and focused on their needs. This includes the creation of a new national police force, the National Police Service, that will set stronger national standards and ensure a more consistent service is received by the public regardless of where they live. The reforms proposed in the white paper will remove the barriers that prevent the police from focusing on what matters and set up the policing system to succeed in the long-term by addressing systemic issues so that policing can better deliver for the public.

3. Total funding for Territorial Police Forces and Counter Terrorism Policing will be up to £19.6 billion in 2026–27, an increase of £848 million compared with the 2025–26 police funding settlement.^{[footnote 2]} This represents a 4.5% increase in cash terms and a 2.2% increase in real terms for policing. Within this, total funding to Territorial Police Forces will be up to £18.4 billion, an increase of £796 million compared with the 2025–26 settlement, representing a 4.5% cash increase and a 2.3% real terms increase for police forces.

4. The Minister for Policing and Crime’s remit letter^{[footnote 3]} refers the following matters to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) in the 2026-27 pay round:

• How to apply the pay award for officers in the federated and superintending ranks in England and Wales.
• To consider proposals resulting from year two of the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) review of allowances, taking into account the views of policing stakeholders.

5. We ask that the PRRB has regard to the views of the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) in respect of chief police officers when making recommendations on the remuneration for officers in the federated and superintending ranks.

Pay proposals

6. HM Treasury’s ‘Economic Evidence to the Pay Review Bodies’ sets out the economic, labour market and fiscal context within which the government asks the independent Pay Review Bodies to consider their recommendations for 2026-27 pay awards. It is available at Economic Evidence to the Pay Review Bodies: 2026-27 Pay Round - GOV.UK.

Basic pay

7. Total funding for Territorial Police Forces and Counter Terrorism Policing will be up to £19.6 billion in 2026–27, an increase of £848 million compared with the 2025–26 police funding settlement. This represents a 4.5% increase in cash terms and a 2.2% increase in real terms for policing. Within this, total funding to Territorial Police Forces will be up to £18.4 billion, an increase of £796 million compared with the 2025–26 settlement, representing a 4.5% cash increase and a 2.3% real terms increase for police forces.

8. Of the overall increase in force level funding, £432 million is additional government grant funding to police forces. This includes an additional £50 million to support the government’s neighbourhood policing objectives above that announced at the provisional police funding settlement in December 2025.

9. The overall increase in Territorial Police funding also includes up to £364 million in additional funding for forces in England and Wales from council tax precept, compared to 2025-26. As confirmed in the provisional local government finance settlement published on 17 December 2025, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England will have the flexibility to increase the police precept by up to £15 for a Band D property in 2025–26. This assumes PCCs make use of the full precept flexibility of £15 for English forces.

10. Our current assessment is that a pay award of up to 2.5% is affordable in 2026-27 for most police forces, although affordability is not uniform and some forces are likely to face pressures even at this level. Anything above this would likely require difficult choices and financial reprioritisation to be made by policing. This will vary by force but there are some forces already facing difficult choices to balance their budgets in 2026-27 and in the medium term. Another above affordability pay award would exacerbate these pressures. Four years of above affordability pay awards has put pressure on police force budgets, particularly as newly recruited officers moved up the pay scales and there was the requirement to maintain overall officer numbers. This is supported by the National Audit Office’s report^{[footnote 4]} published November 2025, which noted that “the pressures facing policing are growing and current approaches to managing these pressures risk damaging services that police forces provide”. Ahead of the 2026-27 settlement, a number of forces made requests for exceptional financial support and for the first time the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Home Office are considering PCC applications for exceptional precepts where it is critical for financial sustainability. The applications are being considered on a case-by-case basis and will only be agreed in exceptional circumstances, following careful consideration of the force’s specific circumstances.

11. The government is taking steps to improve police productivity and efficiency to ease these pressures, as set out in paragraphs 32 to 40, but it will take time for these benefits to be fully realised. The white paper for police reform and police funding settlement set out that we will make further progress to deliver the £354 million cashable savings target by 2028-29 through the Police Efficiency and Collaboration Programme (PECP).

12. The Spending Review 2025 set departmental budgets for day-to-day spending until 2028-29. The government has been clear that pay awards need to be funded in full from within these budgets and there will be no access to the reserve. If the Pay Review Bodies recommend pay increases above the level departments have budgeted for, departments will need to carefully consider the justification for these awards and determine whether these additional costs can be borne either through offsetting savings or through further productivity gains.

13. The government accepted the PRRB’s recommendation of 4.2% for the 2025-26 pay award. However, since it came in well above the figures we set out as affordable within our evidence, we again had to take difficult decisions and make savings elsewhere in the Home Office’s budgets to provide additional funding of £120 million to forces to help with the increased costs. We undertook a rigorous in-year savings exercise and put in place enhanced spending controls, finding efficiencies across various programmes and reducing discretionary spend.

14. Pay awards of 4.75% in 2024-25, 7% in 2023-24 and £1,900 in 2022-23 (equivalent to 5% overall and targeted at the lowest pay points) were also above affordability and required additional funding of c.£1.370 billion from the Home Office. It is not sustainable for the Home Office or policing to repeatedly reprioritise budgets and make savings to fund pay awards, as this comes at the expense of other investment.

15. Data shows there is no particular reason for concern with recruitment and retention or that targeted pay awards are required. While there continues to be anecdotal evidence about recruitment difficulties and increased attrition rates for some specialist roles, we have not received any robust evidence explaining the problem or that any pay solutions would be an appropriate response. In the year ending 31 March 2025, the leaver rate (leavers as a proportion of those at the start of the year), which takes into account the size of the workforce at the start of the year, was 6.0%.^{[footnote 5]} Voluntary resignations accounted for 3.2% of the workforce and are low compared to other workforces.

16. Further affordability assessments will be undertaken when the PRRB submits its recommendations.

London Weighting

17. London Weighting has historically increased in line with annual pay increases. We ask the PRRB to consider the evidence put forward by policing partners on whether there is a case for increasing this in 2026-27. Any increase must be funded from within existing allocations.

18. When reviewing London Weighting for officers in the federated and superintending ranks, we ask that the PRRB has regard to the views of the SSRB in respect of chief officers.

Allowances

19. The Minister for Policing and Crime’s remit letter asks the PRRB to consider proposals resulting from year two of the NPCC’s review of allowances, taking into account the views of policing stakeholders. Again, any increases must be funded from within existing allocations.

20. When considering allowances that also apply to chief officers, we ask that the PRRB has regard to the views of the SSRB.

Context

Safer streets

21. This government has committed to five core Missions to address fundamental societal challenges over the next decade. The Safer Streets Mission, led by the Home Office, is taking a whole-system approach to deliver this government’s Plan for Change and the Prime Minister’s priorities to reduce serious harm and restore public confidence in policing and the criminal justice system.

22. Central to the Safer Streets Mission is our ambition to halve violence against women and girls and knife crime within a decade, while strengthening neighbourhood policing, tackling anti-social behaviour, and making town centres safer.

23. The Safer Streets Mission is entering a new era of policing reform and delivery, and our ambitious programme of reform includes:

• A police reform white paper, published on 26 January, to tackle structural inefficiencies and ensure national policing supports local neighbourhood policing.
• The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee to ensure there are named, contactable officers for every community, guaranteed patrols at peak times, and 13,000 extra neighbourhood officers.
• Safer town centres where neighbourhood policing teams will crack down on crime in town centres, with successful initiatives such as the Safer Streets Summer Initiative 2025 and the Winter of Action (2025-26).

Neighbourhood policing

24. Restoration of neighbourhood policing is at the heart of the government’s plans for police reform. As part of the neighbourhood policing guarantee, every neighbourhood now has a named and contactable officer dedicated to tackling local issues, with forces increasing patrols in town centres and other hotspots based on local demand. We have also made £200 million available to police forces in 2025-26 year to kick-start the journey towards delivering 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing personnel by the end of this Parliament, including 3,000 by March 2026.

Police reform

25. The white paper, ‘From local to national: a new model for policing’ was published on 26 January. Reforms include:

• Putting more officers on the beat in neighbourhood policing roles and stripping away the bureaucracy that prevents the police from focusing on the public’s priorities.
• Stripping out duplication and inefficiency in the system by moving to fewer forces, including launching an Independent Review, to report in the summer, which will identify how best to significantly reduce the number of forces.
• Focusing local forces on local crime, while strengthening our ability to tackle serious and organised crime and threats to national security by creating a new national force, the National Police Service.
• Creating a more consistent service by holding the police to account for delivering a set of Local Policing Guarantees, backed up by new powers to intervene where forces fall short.
• Freeing up resources to reinvest into frontline local policing, which will mean more visible patrols on our streets, rapid response to emergency events, effective problem-solving to tackle the drivers of crime, and stronger relationships with communities that give us a better understanding of local priorities.
• Equipping the police for the future with a modern workforce and the best technology to catch criminals. Central to this is investing tens of millions of pounds into cutting edge technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to free up officer time and get them back on the frontline.

26. On 13 November, the government announced that the PCC model will be abolished. Their roles will be absorbed by regional mayors wherever possible, meaning measures to cut crime will be considered as part of wider public services like education and healthcare. In areas not covered by a mayor, the PCC role will be taken on by elected council leaders. The transition to the new model will happen at the end of PCCs’ current term of office in May 2028.

Policing environment

27. Estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW)^{[footnote 6]} for the year ending September 2025 showed that:

• Around 9.3 million incidents of CSEW headline crime (including theft, robbery, criminal damage, fraud, computer misuse and violence with or without injury). There was no statistically significant change compared with the year ending September 2024 survey (9.5 million incidents).
• Computer misuse decreased by 21% (to around 686,000 incidents).
• There was no statistically significant change in overall theft offences. However, there was a 20% fall in domestic burglary (to 342,000 incidents) and a 16% fall in vehicle-related theft (to around 617,000 incidents).
• There was no statistically significant change in overall fraud. However, there was a 19% rise in bank and credit account fraud (to around 2.6 million incidents) and a 40% decrease in “other fraud” (to 137,000 incidents).

28. The CSEW also reports that while police recorded crime does not tend to be a good indicator of general trends in crime, it can give more insight into lower-volume, higher-harm offences reported to the police, including those that the survey does not cover or capture well. Data for the year ending September 2025 showed that:

• The number of homicides decreased by 7% (to 499 offences) compared with year ending September 2024. This was the lowest figure since current police recording practices began in year ending March 2003.
• Offences involving knives or sharp instruments decreased by 9% (to 50,430 offences) compared with year ending September 2024 (55,149 offences).
• Offences involving firearms decreased by 9% (to 4,851 offences) compared with year ending September 2024 (5,356 offences). This was the lowest figure since current police recording practices began in year ending March 2003.
• The number of robbery offences (82,678 offences) remained similar to year ending September 2024 (82,354 offences).
• Shoplifting offences increased by 5% (to 519,381 offences) compared with the previous year (492,660 offences).

Police funding

29. In 2026-27, total funding for police forces will be up to £18.4 billion, an increase of up to £796 million compared to the 2025-26 police funding settlement. This includes £432 million additional government grant funding and up to £364 million additional funding from council tax precept, based on current forecasts and assuming all PCCs maximise their precept flexibility. This equates to a 4.5% cash increase and a 2.3% real terms increase for the policing system.

30. The figures above include the flexibility for PCCs to increase precept by up to £15 for a Band D equivalent property (for English forces). PCCs may go further should they wish by holding a local referendum.

31. The 2026-27 police funding settlement confirmed the removal of the officer maintenance grant, providing forces with the flexibility to better shape their workforce. The settlement also included an additional £50 million following the provisional settlement, emphasising the government’s priority to support the delivery of 13,000 additional neighbourhood personnel and incentivise forces to grow neighbourhood policing teams.

Productivity and efficiency

32. Our recently published police reform white paper will pave the way for efficiency improvements, setting out a vision to bring policing into the modern age with the technology, innovation and structures they need to deliver far better value for the taxpayer. This will ensure that all police forces are equipped to deliver the government’s Safer Streets Mission and Plan for Change. It is right that as part of these reforms the government is ambitious in working with policing to make efficiencies and cut costs, whilst ensuring it has the resources it needs.

33. We have established the PECP working with the NPCC and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) to improve the efficiency and productivity of policing by driving long-term sustainable improvement, freeing up resources and time for reinvestment into priority areas and improving overall outcomes for the public. PECP is driving the delivery of cashable efficiencies of £354 million and millions of hours of officer time by 2028-29.

34. PECP is underpinned by tripartite decision-making. It is supplementing a Home Office led team by engaging external expert resources and incorporating secondees from policing, as well as embedding Police Digital Service, BlueLight Commercial and Crown Commercial Service teams to accelerate progress.

35. PECP will undertake a number of activities including driving commercial efficiencies through national frameworks and buying; increased cost recovery for services policing delivers; introducing new shared services as part of the delivery of the proposed National Police Service (Transition State One); and improving productivity through better use of AI, data and technology.

36. PECP has already delivered savings through the piloting of a new national buying approach to vehicles, IT and defibrillators that has shown the value of buying once and buying well, driving savings that would not have been possible at force level.

37. PECP has worked to ensure that the police can recover costs on services, including delivering legislative changes to provide clarity on the police’s power to charge for the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme courses supporting great cost recovery and increasing firearms fees to full cost recovery.

38. PECP is focussed on both delivering cashable savings and long-term sustainable change and productivity improvements. This means that part of the programme is identifying and delivering productivity improvements across police forces that reduce administrative burdens and tackle bureaucracy within policing to free-up officer time and resources, which can then be re-invested into priority areas. We are sponsoring the Centre for Police Productivity, within the College of Policing, to support police forces in driving productivity improvements consistently, through fast-tracking proven innovations via blueprints and frameworks, developing productivity tools and rolling out benefits guidance across all forces.

39. Under PECP, the proposed National Police Service aims to bring together crucial existing national operational support services including National Policing Air Service, National IT, National Commercial and National Forensics for local police forces to draw upon, to raise standards and improve efficiency. PECP would work to optimise these in-scope services, before transitioning them into the proposed National Police Service to support long-term sustainability of national enabling capabilities and operational support services for policing.

40. We are investing tens of millions of pounds in technology to get officers onto the frontline and enable them to do their jobs effectively. Since July 2024, the government has provided over £50m to policing to support the rapid and responsible testing and rollout of AI-enabled tools. This activity has focused on areas where AI can make the biggest difference, and where we have confidence in the quality of the AI outputs. We want to go further and are looking at how we can accelerate our AI ambitions as part of the Police Reform Agenda.

Accountability review

41. On 23 October 2024, the government announced a substantial package of reforms on police accountability. These reforms would ensure the public has confidence there is an appropriate system to hold officers to account where they may exceed the lawful use of their powers or otherwise fall short of the standards expected of them. In addition, it would provide police officers with confidence to be able to use their powers to keep the public safe and know that accountability arrangements are timely and proportionate. Effective accountability arrangements will also support high standards of professionalism, morale and wellbeing.

42. On 23 October 2025, the Home Secretary provided an update to Parliament on the progress of these measures, which included:

• The Crime and Policing Bill progressing through Parliament, including legislation to create a presumption of anonymity for firearms officers who are charged with offences relating to, and committed during, their duties as a firearms officer and who are subject to criminal trial following a shooting, up until the point of conviction.
• The Bill also includes provisions to align the threshold for the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to refer police officers to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), with that of the threshold to refer members of the public, allow the IOPC to send cases to the CPS when there is sufficient evidence, and to place the IOPC’s Victims’ Right to Review scheme on a statutory basis.
• Two independent reviewers, Tim Godwin OBE QPM and the Rt Hon Sir Adrian Fulford, conducted a rapid review to assess the case for change in relation to two legal tests applied in misconduct and inquest processes. The reviewers recommended changing the legal test in misconduct proceedings, and that the government carries out a consultation in relation to Inquests. The government has accepted these recommendations.
• The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has reviewed CPS guidance and processes in relation to charging police officers for offences committed in the course of their duties.
• The College of Policing has completed the first phase of creating a lessons learned database from investigations into death and serious injuries following police contact.

Misconduct and vetting

43. The government has responded to continued concerns on policing standards and, as part of the recent white paper, the government committed to taking focussed action on improving culture through reforms to the police vetting and misconduct systems, including the introduction of national mandatory vetting standards.

44. The government has also committed to working with the IOPC to increase its effectiveness, governance and efficiency, in order to help meet increased demand. Further work with the IOPC will support enhancements to accountability, scrutiny and transparency within the police complaints systems to improve trust and confidence.

45. This work will build upon significant reforms delivered in 2025 to strengthen the police misconduct, performance^{[footnote 7]} and vetting^{[footnote 8]} systems. Reforms to the misconduct system included a presumption of dismissal for proven gross misconduct and a presumption of accelerated misconduct hearings for former officers. Home Office statistics^{[footnote 9]} show that, in cases finalised in 2024-25, 95 officers were found to have committed gross misconduct but received outcomes other than dismissal and that, of officers dismissed for gross misconduct, 56% had already left the service at the point of their dismissal.

46. As part of the strengthening of the system, the government streamlined the system for dealing with unsatisfactory performance, reducing the timescales for officers to demonstrate improvement.

47. Following a manifesto commitment, the government also announced in 2024^{[footnote 10]} changes to the police suspension arrangements, which will strengthen the requirements on forces to suspend police officers who are subject to investigation for criminal offences such as domestic abuse or sexual offences.

48. Through the Crime and Policing Bill, the government will provide for chief officers to appeal the decisions of misconduct panels to the Police Appeals Tribunal and will better protect law enforcement by widening the barred list scheme, creating additional lists for the National Crime Agency, British Transport Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary and Ministry of Defence Police to prevent dismissed officers from moving between those bodies.

49. In April 2025, the government introduced brand new regulations (The Police (Vetting) Regulations 2025) which place a duty on police officers to hold and maintain vetting clearance and provide a route to dismiss those who cannot. These regulations are supported by new Home Office statutory guidance on the withdrawal of police vetting clearance^{[footnote 11]}.

50. To deliver on one of its manifesto commitments, the government also announced in 2024 that it would place police vetting standards on a legislative footing, ensuring officers are held to the highest standards. These regulations will seek to introduce new measures which will enable forces to exclude individuals from policing who have a caution or a conviction for relevant domestic abuse or sexual offences.

Police officer workforce

Recruitment and retention

51. The latest data on total officer numbers was published on 28 January as part of the Home Office’s Police Workforce Statistics (England and Wales).^{[footnote 12]} This data shows that at 30 September 2025 there were a total of 145,550 full-time equivalent (FTE) officers across England and Wales.

52. It is important that each police force has an effective workforce plan in place to meet current and future needs. The Home Office continues to work closely with policing partners nationally to develop sustainable long term workforce plans. In the year ending 31 March 2025, the leaver rate (leavers as a proportion of those at the start of the year), which takes into account the size of the workforce at the start of the year, was 6.0%.

53. The retention of police officers is an important element of managing the police workforce. At 31 March 2025, the voluntary resignation rate in England and Wales, was 3.2%, this is a small decrease from the previous year when the rate was 3.4%. Voluntary resignations for police officers remain low compared to other sectors. Retention of valuable experience remains important, which is why forces should be using effective strategies to manage the retention and progression of existing officers.

Diversity

54. As at 31 March 2025, there were 12,089 FTE officers from minority ethnic groups (excluding white minorities), making up 8.5% of the workforce (excluding those who did not state their ethnicity).^{[footnote 13]} The proportion of officers identifying as an ethnic minority has been increasing since March 2007, when it was 4.7%.

55. Representation of minority ethnic officers (excluding white minorities) was lower among senior ranks (chief inspector or above) compared with constables and other ranks. For example, 6.5% of officers of rank chief inspector or above identified as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities), compared with 9.0% of constables.

56. There were 52,839 FTE female police officers in post on 31 March 2025, making up 36.1% of police officers in England and Wales (where sex was known), up slightly from 35.4% in the previous year.

Entry routes

57. The four police constable entry routes (PCER) available to forces are: Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA), Degree in Professional Policing holder (PPD), Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP) and Police Constable Entry Programme (PCEP).

58. The College of Policing sets the national programme specifications, programme entry and assessment requirements and the ‘Quality Standards Assessment’ process. All entry routes share a common core curriculum and are structured to deliver the same essential learning outcomes. The College also provides guidance and support to forces on the implementation of the routes.

59. The College, with the NPCC and wider sector, is in the final year of the PCER Optimisation Programme. The programme seeks to improve the quality and consistency of the routes, including supporting forces to design and deliver inclusive PCER and developing a national equality impact assessment.

Leadership and talent management

60. The government has been clear that strong leadership at all ranks is essential to drive cultural change and raise standards across all levels. The Home Office continues to work closely with the College of Policing to develop plans for implementing and improving training and professional development offer for officers, including considering how we can ensure consistency across forces whilst recognising the police’s operational independence.

61. The College of Policing has developed national leadership standards at all levels of the workforce. All officers and staff are encouraged to undertake leadership development to support them in their role. As published in the police reform white paper, we are looking to mandate leadership standards by setting out national leadership development programmes. These programmes will ensure that all officers can demonstrate that they are equipped with the right leadership skills and meet the required standard before they reach more senior ranks.

62. Policing must remain a competitive employer to attract the best people. As part of the wider policing reforms, we will explore a more flexible employment model that attracts a range of people, skills and experience from other sectors and specialisms. We will build on, and learn from, previous models to open up new forms of Direct Entry into policing and explore the option of renewing the Direct Entry Inspector programme, linked to a fast-track route to superintendent.

63. A new Leadership Commission led by Lord Blunkett and Lord Herbert has been set up by the College of Policing, with the support of the Home Office. It is running in parallel with ongoing work on police reform and will report to the government in May 2026. The Commission is conducting a comprehensive review of police leadership at all levels to ensure policing can respond to evolving threats and challenges and meet public expectations. This includes considering what skills and capabilities are needed in police leaders at all levels to ensure they can perform and deliver effective service. It is examining the current entry routes into policing and considering potential alternative models to attract, fast-track and develop the brightest talent. It is also reviewing the impact of police reforms to date; level of investment in leadership development; and balance between national and local programmes. Current training and development programmes for officers and staff are being examined as well as how leadership shapes police culture and addresses systemic issues.

64. The Leadership Commission is seeking a broad range of views from within and outside the service working closely with the College of Policing to ensure practical and achievable recommendations. The focus is on creating a culture of continuous learning and development that unlocks leadership potential at every level of the service.

65. The College’s National Talent Development Strategy was launched in January 2025 to introduce a consistent approach to developing talent nationally, and is dedicated to supporting leadership development, promotion, and progression for everyone in policing. The Strategy will help to address the gaps in leadership by ensuring that everyone in policing who shows leadership ability is able to develop the skills they need to progress, with a particular focus on under-represented groups. This will all help to ensure a strong pipeline of senior leaders for the future.

Morale and wellbeing

66. Since the introduction of the Police Covenant in 2022, the Home Office and our partners in policing have made strides to address disadvantages relating to the health and wellbeing experienced by the police workforce, their families and those who have left policing.

67.  Building on the work of last year, the government has continued to push forward work to meet the needs of the workforce. For the first time, a clear set of guidelines for chief officers has been published by the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS) and the Chief Medical Officer for Policing. The Workforce Prioritisation Guidance makes it clear what they must deliver and what their workforces can expect.

68. Following a successful pilot, a national mental health helpline has been established, providing officers and staff with support when they need it the most.

69. The government’s police reform white paper contains clear commitments to provide support to the police workforce, past and present, and their families. As well as introducing a new package of wellbeing measures, the government has committed to look at ways of strengthening the Covenant including, if necessary, through additional legislation.

Police workforce strategy

70. The government is clear that an effective, well-supported, and modern police workforce is fundamental to delivering safer communities and reducing crime. We cannot deliver on our Safer Streets Mission without a workforce that is properly equipped, well led, and supported to meet those challenges.

71. That is why we are developing a new national police workforce strategy, to build and support a modern, capable, and sustainable police workforce, as set out in our police reform white paper.

72. The police workforce strategy will underpin wider police reform, bringing forward practical proposals on leadership standards, wellbeing, recruitment, retention, and workforce data — ensuring every force has the tools to deliver an effective, modern service.

73. Forces must have the right mix of officers, staff, and specialist skills in place to respond to today’s challenges and anticipate those of the future. That is why we are focussed on ensuring policing has the right people, with the right skills, in the right places to deliver a more efficient modern service that is properly aligned to current and future demand so that policing can continue to provide an effective service to the public.

74. The police workforce strategy will support forces to improve workforce planning and demand modelling, underpinned by stronger, standardised workforce data. This will enable policing to assess both current capability and future need.

75. We will also develop a Licence to Practise model. This is a long-term ambition that will ensure officers are supported in their careers and reflects the professionalism and standards the public rightly expect of policing today.

76. In addition we will give greater flexibility around entry and exit for the workforce, including a specialist direct entry pathway into policing to ensure that policing can continue to access the skills it needs.

77. These reforms will make a real, measurable difference. They will ensure policing is better organised and more responsive to public need, improve officer retention and wellbeing, and strengthen leadership and workforce diversity.

Overall remuneration package

Basic pay

78. The government accepted the PRRB’s recommendation in its last report to award officers in the federated and superintending ranks a consolidated increase of 4.2%. With effect from 1 September 2025, starting salaries for constables are £31,164. The current salary ranges for each rank are in Annex A.

79. With effect from 1 April 2025, chief officers have discretion to set starting salaries for new constables at either pay point 1 (£31,164) or pay point 2 (£32,472) on the constables’ pay scale, if they determine that it is necessary to do so to meet local recruitment needs.

80. In addition to annual pay awards, officers in the federated and superintending ranks who are not at the top of their pay scale receive annual incremental pay progression. This is worth at least 2% of salary, and often 4-6%. With effect from 1 April 2023, this is dependent on an officer meeting the requirements of the pay progression standard (PPS) in the previous 12 months. Dependent on meeting the PPS, a constable will typically reach the top of their pay scale in six years, other ranks in three to four years. A typical constable will receive a salary of £50,256 within six years of joining.

81. The tables below set out median basic pay by rank for officers over the last five years. Median earnings for constables over this period reflect changes to the composition of the workforce, with a higher proportion of officers on lower pay points.

Table 1: Median basic pay by rank and year, outside London

Rank	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Federated ranks
Constables	£40,713	£40,356	£37,571	£36,783	£39,688
Sergeants	£45,757	£46,227	£47,337	£50,094	£52,924
Inspectors	£56,405	£56,499	£57,360	£60,584	£64,196
Chief Inspectors	£59,706	£60,262	£61,213	£64,771	£68,528
Superintending ranks
Superintendents	£75,950	£76,727	£77,193	£81,978	£86,225
Chief Superintendents	£90,228	£90,449	£92,028	£98,063	£105,340

Table 2: Median basic pay by rank and year, in London

Rank	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Federated ranks
Constables	£40,713	£41,130	£42,240	£44,789	£47,320
Sergeants	£45,757	£46,227	£46,784	£50,094	£52,924
Inspectors	£57,774	£57,365	£58,366	£61,726	£66,433
Chief Inspectors	£61,388	£61,384	£62,696	£66,550	£71,110
Superintending ranks
Superintendents	£74,867	£75,408	£75,658	£79,992	£85,575
Chief Superintendents	£90,817	£91,275	£89,598	£96,424	£101,864

Source (Tables 1 and 2): Home Office analysis of the Police Workforce Census, 31 March 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Note: Year-on-year comparisons in police officer earnings should be treated with caution due to changes in the composition of the workforce over time.

Allowances

82. In addition to basic pay, officers may receive a range of allowances. A summary of allowances and their current values is provided in Annex B.

83. The NPCC developed a schedule for a review of all allowances, that included timescales and a priority order. It proposed reviewing all allowances over a three-year period from financial year 2024-25 and that each one will then be reviewed on a cyclical basis and at least every five years.

84. The Minister for Policing and Crime’s remit letter asks the PRRB to consider proposals resulting from year two of the review of allowances, taking into account the views of policing stakeholders.

85. The tables below set out median total earnings (which include basic pay and allowances) by rank for officers over the last five years:

Table 3: Median total earnings by rank and year, outside London

Rank	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Federated ranks
Constables	£41,395	£41,298	£42,240	£41,630	£45,140
Sergeants	£49,264	£50,447	£52,174	£54,500	£57,131
Inspectors	£57,104	£57,455	£58,481	£61,636	£65,048
Chief Inspectors	£61,092	£61,372	£62,324	£65,601	£69,229
Superintending ranks
Superintendents	£79,301	£79,004	£79,635	£84,101	£88,295
Chief Superintendents	£92,817	£92,585	£93,348	£99,476	£106,725

Table 4: Median total earnings by rank and year, in London

Rank	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Federated ranks
Constables	£48,514	£49,105	£50,196	£52,996	£55,951
Sergeants	£56,440	£57,922	£59,391	£62,639	£65,744
Inspectors	£65,518	£65,623	£66,586	£70,916	£75,671
Chief Inspectors	£69,287	£69,213	£70,604	£75,192	£79,734
Superintending ranks
Superintendents	£82,874	£84,598	£82,639	£88,401	£95,130
Chief Superintendents	£98,506	£98,803	£97,509	£105,101	£117,668

Source (Tables 3 and 4): Home Office analysis of the Police Workforce Census, 31 March 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Note: Year-on-year comparisons in police officer earnings should be treated with caution due to changes in the composition of the workforce over time.

Pensions

86. A key benefit of working in the public sector is access to the appropriate pension schemes. Police officers are entitled to membership of a defined benefit pension scheme, a guaranteed inflation-linked pension for life, based on salary and years worked. Members benefit from employer contributions of 35.3%. This compares to most private sector employees who receive defined contribution pensions, and for whom employer contributions are significantly lower. Employer contributions are less than 10% for the majority of employees.^{[footnote 14]}

87. Annual employer contributions for constables on the lowest pay point are £11,000 and £40,872 for chief superintendents on the highest pay point.

88. The pension scheme provides an ill-health pension for members where they are assessed as being permanently medically unfit for the ordinary duties of a member of the force. There is also a separate scheme that provides injury benefits where a police officer is no longer able to be a police officer due to an injury received in the line of duty. The pension also comes with ancillary benefits, for example, spouse or partner pensions, child pensions and a death in service lump sum.

89. The police pension schemes are administered by the 43 separate police forces in England and Wales. Based on the latest scheme valuation data (as of 31 March 2020), there are 120,000 active police pension scheme members and 168,000 pensioner members who are in receipt of their pension.

Member contributions structure

90. In November 2024, the Home Office launched a formal consultation on amendments to the Police Pension Regulations 2015. The consultation sought views on proposed changes to the structure of member contributions, with a view to continuing to encourage participation in the Scheme.

91. The Home Office’s response to the consultation was published in November 2025.^{[footnote 15]} It confirmed broad support for retaining a tiered contribution structure, with a preference for approaches that are administratively sustainable, fair and capable of delivering the required member contribution yield. Respondents also highlighted the importance of protecting lower-paid members, supporting scheme participation and ensuring that contribution structures do not act as a disincentive to promotion or retention.

92. In light of the consultation responses, the government will proceed with implementing a revised member contribution structure that reflects the feedback received. These changes are as follows:

• Retaining the tiered structure: The existing three-tier structure will be retained.
• Increasing tier thresholds: The thresholds for each contribution tier will be increased in line with known pay increases since 2015.
• Switch from FTE to actual pay: Member contribution tiers will now be determined based on a member’s actual pensionable pay from the previous scheme year, rather than FTE salary.
• Ongoing review: Contribution thresholds will continue to be reviewed as part of the regular scheme valuation cycle, rather than being automatically uplifted by a fixed index such as CPI.

McCloud/Sargeant

93. In 2011, the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission, undertaken by Lord Hutton, was published identifying that public sector pensions schemes needed to be sustainable, affordable in the long term, and fair to the public service workforce and taxpayers. This resulted in the introduction of new public sector pension schemes which came into force in April 2015 and different timetables for the workforce to transition into the scheme based on age. Courts later determined that the transitional protection for members was discriminatory under the McCloud/Sargeant ruling.

94. To rectify this discrimination, the McCloud/Sargeant remedy was delivered in two stages: the first, to bring the discrimination to an end (the prospective remedy) from 1 April 2022, and the second, to remedy the discrimination that had taken place between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 (the retrospective remedy).

95. To implement the retrospective remedy in respect of policing, the Police Pensions (Remediable Service) Regulations 2023 were made in accordance with the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 (PSPJOA).

96. The retrospective remedy is mainly resolved by making payments out of the pension scheme to “correct benefits” and payments described by the PSPJOA as compensation (for tax purposes). The Home Office continues to support the resolution of a small number of technical and complex issues arising from the remedy process, including a small cohort of members impacted as a result of opting back into the pension scheme during the remedy period.

Other terms

97. The government accepted the PRRB’s recommendation in the 2024-25 pay round that the time it takes officers in the federated ranks to reach the maximum annual leave entitlement of 30 days should be reduced from 20 to 10 years; and that annual leave entitlement for new entrants should be increased from 22 to 25 days. These changes took effect on 1 April 2025 and will be phased in over three years.

98. Officers also have access to flexible working schedules and career breaks. Further benefits include enhanced maternity pay and leave and parental support pay (up to two weeks), paid allowances to compensate for disruption to family life and the demands of the role, and sick leave on full pay for up to six months.

99. The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025. The government is committed to reviewing how the additions and amendments to existing employment legislation should be applied to police officers and we welcome the PRRB’s views on this.

100. We welcome the NPCC’s work to review current paternity leave entitlements (referred to as maternity support leave in the Police Regulations 2003) for officers and whether changes should be made.

Annex A: Police officer numbers and salaries by rank

Rank	Full-time equivalent[footnote 16]	Salary (minimum)	Salary (maximum)
Federated ranks
Constables	113,225	£31,164	£50,256
Sergeants	22,427	£53,568	£56,208
Inspectors	6,902	£63,768	£68,982
Chief Inspectors	2,196	£70,344	£73,149
Superintending ranks
Superintendents	1,057	£84,177	£99,015
Chief Superintendents	372	£103,797	£115,785

Annex B: Summary of allowances

Unsocial hours allowance

1. Officers in the federated ranks receive an additional 10% of their basic pay, on an hourly basis, for hours worked between 8:00pm and 6:00am. The allowance was introduced in 2012.

Away from home allowance

2. Officers in the federated ranks are paid an allowance if they are held in reserve. They are held in reserve if they are serving away from their normal place of duty and are required to stay in a particular, specified place, rather than being allowed to return home by reason of the need to be ready for immediate deployment. Since 1 September 2025, the allowance is £60 per night.

Hardship allowance

3. Paid to officers in the federated ranks for each night held in reserve and not provided with “proper accommodation”. “Proper accommodation” is defined as a room for the sole occupation of the officer, with an en-suite bathroom. Since 1 September 2025, the allowance is £40 per night.

On-call allowance

4. Initially available to officers in the federated ranks for each 24-hour period on-call. The allowance was extended to the superintending ranks in 2019. The allowance was increased to £35 with effect from 1 September 2025.

Motor vehicle allowance

5. Paid to officers using their own vehicles for duty, at essential user or casual user rates. The Winsor Review^{[footnote 17]} recommended that the link between the motor vehicle allowance for police officers and that for local authorities should be re-established. With effect from 1 September 2025, the essential users lump sum per annum is £1,239 for all engine sizes.

6. Since 1 September 2016, the rates payable for mileage expenses to both essential and casual users have been aligned to the prevailing HMRC rates. Current rates are 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p per mile for mileage over 10,000 miles in any tax year.

Dog handlers’ allowance

7. Compensates dog handlers for caring for a dog on their rest days and public holidays and is payable where a police dog is kept and cared for at the officer’s home. Dog handers’ allowance increased to £2,946 a year on 1 September 2025.

8. The additional rate for officers with more than one dog is 50% of the rate for the first dog.

Protection allowance

9. Paid to officers engaged in core protection duties when they are required immediately before or after a shift, whilst off duty, to remain in a particular, specified location (rate 1); or are required to remain in a particular, specified location, be immediately contactable and deployable, and fit for firearms duty or duty with a Conductive Energy Device (rates 2 and 3). The allowance was introduced on 1 December 2020 at varying rates, dependent on rank and the nature of the deployment.

• Rate 1: £40 per day.
• Rate 2: Constables and sergeants - £90 per day; Inspectors and chief inspectors - £125 per day.
• Rate 3: Constables and sergeants - £125 per day; Inspectors and chief inspectors - £160 per day.

London allowance

10. Paid to officers in the Metropolitan Police Service and City of London Police appointed on or after 1 September 1994 and not receiving a replacement allowance. The maximum rate was increased to £6,588 a year on 1 April 2025.

11. The maximum rate for officers appointed before 1 September 1994 and in receipt of a replacement allowance is £1,011 a year (provided that the total of the London allowance and replacement allowance payable shall not exceed the London allowance that would be payable if the officer were not receiving a replacement allowance).

12. The rates are determined by the Commissioner of the relevant force with regard to location and retention needs, following consultation with the joint branch board or Joint Executive Committee.

London transitional supplement

13. Paid to officers in the Metropolitan Police Service and City of London Police who joined before 1 September 1994 and who receive a half rate housing allowance or a flat rate transitional rent allowance. The rate is determined by the Commissioner of the relevant force with regard to location and retention needs, following consultation with the joint branch board or Joint Executive Committee, and not exceeding £1,000 a year (provided that the total of the London transitional supplement, London allowance and replacement allowance payable to the officer shall not exceed the London allowance that would be payable if the officer were not receiving a replacement allowance).

South East England allowance

14. Paid to officers in Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey or Thames Valley forces appointed on or after 1 September 1994 and not receiving a replacement allowance, at a maximum rate of £3,000. Officers in Bedfordshire, Hampshire or Sussex forces appointed on or after 1 September 1994 and not receiving a replacement allowance may receive an allowance at a maximum rate of £2,000. The maximum rate was increased on 1 September 2016.

15. The rate is determined by the Chief Constable of the relevant force with regard to location and retention needs, following consultation with the joint branch board. Before exercising their discretion, the Chief Constable must obtain and have regard to evidence of local difficulties in recruiting and retaining police officers; and a local assessment of affordability conducted in consultation with the local policing body.

South East England transitional supplement

16. A supplementary allowance paid to officers in Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey forces who joined before 1 September 1994 and whose half rate housing allowance or flat rate transitional rent allowance is less than the rate of the South East England Allowance that the officer would receive if not in receipt of a replacement allowance. It is paid at the rate of the difference between the South East England allowance and the officer’s half rate housing/flat rate transitional rent allowance.

Bonus payments

17. A discretionary payment of between £50 and £2,000 where the chief officer is satisfied an officer has performed work of an outstandingly demanding, unpleasant or important nature. The maximum payment was increased to £2,000 on 1 July 2021.

Service critical skills payments (also referred to as targeted variable pay)

18. Discretionary payments of up to £5,000 a year to officers in the federated and superintending ranks for skills that are in demonstrably short supply and financial incentivisation is considered necessary to attract or retain those skills; or where the role in question is hard-to-fill.

Recognition of workload payments (also referred to as targeted variable pay)

19. Discretionary payments of up to £5,000 a year to officers in the superintending ranks in circumstances where the chief officer determines that the demands placed on the officer exceed those usually placed on other officers of the same rank.

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