SSRB remit letter from the Minister of State for Policing and Crime: 2026 to 2027 (accessible)
Published 19 February 2026
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Sarah Jones MP
Minister of State for Policing and Crime
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
Lea Paterson
Chair, Senior Salaries Review Body
First floor
Caxton House
Tothill Street
London
SW1H 9NA
19 February 2026
Dear Lea
Senior Salaries Review Body Remit 2026/27: Chief police officers
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and the members of the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) for your 2025 report. The Government appreciates the independent, expert advice and valuable contribution that the SSRB makes.
I write to you now to formally commence the 2026/27 pay round and ask for the SSRB to make recommendations on how to apply the pay award for chief police officers in England and Wales.
I also ask that you consider proposals resulting from year two of the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s review of allowances where they are payable to the chief officer ranks, taking into account the views of policing stakeholders.
We accepted your recommendation 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 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. As the Spending Review confirmed, all pay must be funded from Departmental budgets and there will be no additional funding available for pay settlements.
During this pay round, you will receive evidence from my department, HM Treasury and key stakeholders. My department’s evidence will set out the funds available to policing for 2026/27, following the Spending Review in June, as well as the recruitment and retention context alongside pay and earnings data, and will provide an update on our Police Reform White Paper.
The police pay year begins on 1 September and we are committed to announcing pay awards as close to this date as possible. To support this, I would be grateful if you could submit your report at the earliest point that allows you to give due consideration to the relevant evidence. To support with this, the Government will provide its written evidence as soon as possible after the police funding settlement is published, as this will inform the affordability position.
I look forward to receiving your report in due course.
Very best wishes
Sarah Jones MP
Minister of State for Policing and Crime