The announcement that Lincolnshire Police has gone into partnership with private security firm G4S has concerned Mark Pickard, Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation.

Last week Lincolnshire Police announced G4S would design, build and run a new station, as well as take over the employment of 540 civilian workers from April.

The police authority will pay G4S £200 million over 10 years to deliver services including human resources, finance and IT.

“I take a very pragmatic view of this issue,” says Mark, “I cannot understand how other forces can place their services in the hands of private companies for them to tease out efficiencies and make a profit from those efficiencies. Surely, it is better for the constabulary to look at all services, make them more efficient for ourselves and thus gain from those new working practices.

“These companies have a reputation of being ruthless with their staff, changing shift patterns at a moment’s notice, conducting no consultation with their staff and having a general attitude of ‘if you don’t like it then someone else will’.

“We, in Derbyshire work well as a team and we get results. Why change something that is not broken?”

The Lincolnshire move has also prompted the national Police Federation to express its own concerns.

Vice chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales Simon Reed says: “In order to guarantee the maximum resilience of the police service, we need assurances that police staff are available to support officers especially when they are working long hours and under extreme pressure during major incidents.

“Our primary concern is the impact future private contracts will have on the flexibility of the police service, we would hope that officers are not left high and dry in times of national emergency. Police officers should not have to worry about inheriting additional workloads as a result of cuts or changes to the working conditions of support staff.”

Concerns have also been raised over whether private sector employees will have the same sense of ‘public duty’ as force employees.

G4S will build a station containing a two-storey office block and a 30-cell custody suite.

Ten other forces have expressed an interest in becoming “strategic partners”, meaning some of their services would be carried out by G4S.

Government plans to tackle anti-social and drunken behaviour will fail as cuts to policing mean there are simply not enough officers to provide the police presence the Prime Minister is calling for, according to the leader of Derbyshire Police Federation.

In a speech on Wednesday, David Cameron promised to tackle the “scandal” of drunkenness and alcohol abuse and suggested the use of American style “drunk tanks” - cells where people sober up overnight.

He also said there should be more police on patrol in hospitals to help deal with drunken and anti-social behaviour in accident and emergency departments.

“While supportive of efforts to try to tackle this problem, yet again, as happened during the recent public service strikes, police officers are expected to fill the gaps and deal with a society-wide issue caused by years of failing to deal with binge drinking,” says Mark Pickard, who leads Derbyshire Police Federation which represents the county force’s constables, sergeants and inspecting ranks.

“The Prime Minister throws these ideas into the melting pot but yet again he fails to consider who picks up the pieces when the wheel comes off as undoubtedly it will with this crazy idea.

“This is yet another soundbite from a Government that will not listen to the people who deal with these issues on a daily basis.

“Throughout the country, the police, particularly in large towns and cities at weekends, struggle to keep a lid on the problems caused by excessive drinking and Derbyshire is no exception.

“The longer licensing hours mean that officers now cannot accurately predict when and where trouble is likely. The old licensing hours meant we knew that most people would be out on the streets at 2.15am and thus we catered for that. There is now a longer period in which trouble could flare.

“There are regularly queues in custody areas while people wait to be booked into their ‘en suite’ room for the night.”

Mark is also critical of the Government for looking to America for solutions and is opposed to ‘drunk tanks’ where a number of people are detained in one cell.

“In this country, we do not do this for sound reasons. These people are often prone to violence or illness. People entering custody are subject of a ‘safer detention’ policy and ‘drunk tanks’ would fly in the face of our well tried procedures.

“Imagine having 10 people in a ‘drunk tank’ and they all become violent, as undoubtedly they will, how would that be dealt with?

“As per current procedures, when these 10 fall asleep they have to be woken regularly to check on them.  This is staff intensive – staff we cannot afford to lose due to the cuts to the policing budget.”

The Derbyshire inspector has his own ideas for how the Government should tackle the problems caused by people who are drunk.

“When trying to control excessive drinking, they should look at the law of the land, which is quite simple - bar staff should not serve people who are drunk,” Mark explains.

“If Mr Cameron wants to do anything to sort the problem he should invest in police or local government licensing teams to robustly ensure that landlords and licensees abide by the law.

“It has been shown that where the laws are robustly upheld licensees take more responsibility.

“Mr Cameron’s suggestion is as daft an idea as that of the previous Prime Minister who wanted police to take a drunk to a cash point so they could pay an on the spot fine. Where is that idea now?”

The Government is due to publish its alcohol strategy for England later this year but in the meantime its current proposals have also been criticised by the national chairman of the Police Federation.

Paul McKeever says: “The Prime Minister’s suggestion of ‘putting more police on patrol in hospitals’ to help deal with problems of drunken and anti-social behaviour would be a laudable solution if the police service wasn’t struggling to meet the current workload.

“We are already trying to cope with 20 per cent cuts to our budgets imposed on us from the Prime Minister and his Government. We simply do not, and will not, have the police officers or the resources to assist the health service with protecting properties such as hospitals.

“Over the next two years we will see 34,000 police officers and staff cut from the service so it will be nigh on impossible to provide the level of service that the Prime Minister speaks of.

“Unfortunately, this announcement demonstrates that the Government has addressed a very serious issue such as alcoholism in a very isolated way. Tackling binge drinking from the point of view of the Department of Health without considering the implications for other public services is unhelpful and is likely to fail.

“To recommend locking people up in so-called ‘drunk tanks’ to resolve the issue of binge drinking is dangerous. People who are very drunk can be vulnerable and often require medical attention so locking them in a confined space is not an effective solution. Police stations are not the right places for people with alcohol problems. We should be looking closer at finding treatment for the problem rather than sticking a part-time solution over the issue.”

Derbyshire Police Federation has backed a new national campaign warning the Government ‘enough is enough we won’t take any more cuts’.

A poster has been published by the Constables’ Central Committee (CCC) of the Police Federation of England and Wales and is the start of a campaign to raise public awareness of the potential damage the Winsor review could cause to the police service.

Tony Wetton, Derbyshire Police Federation constables’ rep for the operations department, has warned the planned changes in Part 2 of the Winsor review are ‘political meddling in policing and will have grave consequences’.

And Tony Howarth, Chairman of the Derbyshire Constables’ Branch Board, said: “This is about the effect on constables who will be hardest hit by the current outcomes, especially those whose next pay points are three to 10.

“I have spoken to several over the past few days and the majority have pretty strong views about how this has left them. At the end of the day they are the future of policing and some have to make very difficult decisions about their futures. If it wasn't for the current employment situation I am sure we would lose more than we have already. When things do get better I am sure their loyalty will be tested.”

The posters feature the phrase ‘Enough is enough’ emblazoned across the top with a powerful picture of officers in riot gear.

Tony Wetton said: “The Government, through the Home Secretary, has demonstrated that it thinks it can ride roughshod over us and the negotiating procedures. Public support and the consequent pressure on politicians will be crucial in the next stage.

“The message is that police officers have taken a massive hit in their terms and conditions but have reluctantly accepted this, putting their personal detriment aside without complaining, maintaining a dignified and professional attitude and getting on with the job of delivering policing and protecting the public.

“The emphasis will now be on how the potential changes will seriously impact on the level and quality of service the police will be able to deliver to local communities, and that those same police officers will not accept an erosion of that service to their communities.

“Please be reassured that Derbyshire’s Joint Branch Board is playing a very active part in influencing action at the centre.”

Click here to see the Enough is enough poster.

The Home Office has issued a circular on increased police pension contributions.

The circular follows the Home Secretary’s announcement on Monday that contributions to the police pensions schemes will increase from 1 April 2012 for the year 2012 – 2013.

Proposed increases in the next two financial years will be discussed at the Police Negotiating Board.

For more information, follow this link to the Home Office circular:

A Home Office circular publishing the Home Secretary’s decision on the findings of the PAT, the PNB’s recommendations and PABEW’s advice is now available.

The circular does not provide any further detail or clarity to what has already been published within the Winsor Part 1 report and PAT decision.

We are working very hard to ensure that the changes to Regulations and Determinations provide sufficient detail so that these changes to our pay and conditions of service are implemented consistently across the 43 forces,” says Ian Rennie, General Secretary of the Police Federation.

Follow this link to read the Home Office circular: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/corporate-publications-strategy/home-office-circulars/circulars-2012/006-2012/.

The Home Secretary yesterday ratified the ruling of the Police Arbitration Tribunal (PAT) on the recommendations of the Winsor report, Part 1.

Theresa May also approved the nine recommendations already agreed at the Police Negotiating Board.

The Police Federation has put together a document explaining how the changes and modifications put forward by the PAT will affect officers.

Ian Rennie, general secretary of the Police Federation, explains: “Clearly, officers will have questions about the implementation of the PAT ruling. However, the PAT did not specify a deadline for any of its recommendations to be implemented, but it did envisage that the necessary changes to administrative processes to implement its recommendations would have been completed by 1 April 2012.

“Subsequent to the Home Secretary’s announcement, we expect a Home Office Circular and draft determinations for consultation within the Police Negotiating Board which would set out the timeframe in respect of the implementation and detailed operation of the changes set out in the PAT ruling.”

Click here to see how the changes will affect you.

Officers in the police pension scheme will see their contribution rates rise for 2012 - 2013, following an announcement by the Home Secretary yesterday.

However, proposed increases for the following two years will be further considered at the Police Negotiating Board (PNB).

Theresa May has confirmed she will implement the first year of increases to police pension contribution rates (i.e. 2012 - 13), in line with the proposal put to the PNB in July last year.

Contributions increases for members of both the PPS and NPPS from 1 April 2012 will be tiered as follows:

Tier 1: those on basic annual salary of under £27,000 (equivalent to constables with less than two years’ service);

Tier 2: those on basic annual salary of more than £27,000 but less than £60,000 (equivalent to constables with two years’ service or more to chief inspectors); and

Tier 3: those on a basic annual salary of £60,000 and over (equivalent to superintendents and above).

The actual increases are as follows:

Tier 1:

PPS – n/a

NPPS – 0.6% increase (a contribution rate of 10.1%)

Tier 2:

PPS – 1.25% increase (a contribution rate of 12.25%)

NPPS – 1% increase (a contribution rate of 10.5%)

Tier 3:

PPS – 1.5% increase (a contribution rate of 12.5%)

NPPS – 1.25% increase (a contribution rate of 10.75%)

Ian Rennie, general secretary of the Police Federation, explains: “The proposal from the Home Secretary that was sent to the Staff Side of the Police Negotiation Board for consultation in July 2011 included proposed increases to the police pension contribution rates, which were in accordance with the recommendations within the Hutton review of public sector pensions and were to be phased in over three years from April this year.

“Within our response to the consultation we identified our concerns that police officers were being consulted on year-on-year increases for the next three years whereas other public service groups were being consulted on the increase for 2012 - 13 only, with the increases for 2013 - 14 and 2014 - 15 being subject to further consultation and discussion.

“The Home Secretary has now decided that it would not be right to implement all three years of increases for police officers when other public service schemes are only implementing the first year. Instead the Home Secretary has decided to implement the increase for 2012 - 13 and will ask the PNB to consider the proposed increases for 2013 - 14 and 2014-15 in line with other public service schemes.”

The Home Secretary has accepted the ruling of the Police Arbitration Tribunal (PAT).

Theresa May announced that she would abide by the PAT decision in a speech today.

She explained that the full package of reforms was not just about saving money but also about allowing police forces to face the future and tackle crime.

The Government, she said, wanted to cut bureaucracy, enable national procurement programmes and allow chief constables to recognise officers with certain skills and specialisms.

She also praised police forces that had saved money, freed up officers to return to the front-line and provided the visible policing communities wanted.

In an TV news interview after making the speech, Mrs May said the PAT decision would lead to savings of £150 million.

The Home Secretary has also accepted the nine recommendations from the Winsor report that had already been agreed through the Police Negotiating Board and therefore not referred to the PAT.

To read the full report on the PAT decision, click here.

Representatives of the Home Office gave an update on the Police Arbitration Tribunal (PAT) ruling at a meeting of the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) yesterday.

The Federation has been calling on the Home Secretary to ratify the ruling since it was announced last Monday (9 January).

At PNB it was confirmed:

• A decision from the Home Secretary on whether to ratify the PAT ruling would be made shortly. No timeframe was given.
  
  
• After the decision, a Home Office circular would be issued to forces. This will be followed by draft Determinations on which there will be statutory consultation with the PNB.
  
  
• The decision on the PAT ruling was being taken in isolation from any consideration of the second part of the Winsor review, which is also due for publication shortly.

The Official Side has agreed to a Staff Side request for a meeting of the PNB Joint Secretaries to discuss the draft Determinations when the Home Office circular has been issued outlining the Home Secretary’s decision.

Home Secretary Theresa May says she will consider the PAT ruling ‘very carefully’ before giving her decision.

Ms May was responding to a letter from Federation leaders asking that she ratify the PAT decision.

The Home Secretary’s letter can be viewed by clicking on the link below.

Police Arbitration Tribunal Decision

Federation leaders are considering the impact on officers now that the Police Arbitration Tribunal (PAT) has announced its ruling on the Winsor Part 1 report.

The PAT decision was published on Monday, with most of Winsor's recommendations being accepted.

However, a number were modified, notably the panel decided casual over-time should continue to be paid at time and a third, ruled an ‘away from home allowance’ of £50 per night should be paid to officers engaged in mutual aid and called for CRTPs to remain in place for officers who already received them.

"Since the PAT decision came out we have been contacted by many Federation members asking how the findings will affect them. While we appreciate officers' concerns, the plain answer is that we don't know yet," says Ian Godfrey, Secretary of Derbyshire Police Federation.

"Firstly, the Home Secretary has not confirmed - or otherwise - if she will ratify the findings. Secondly, if she does ratify, the Police Negotiating Board will meet to discuss and agree the finer points and implications.

"Until all that is done and the changes are formally confirmed, we are simply speculating. Be mindful of the findings and have a good read of them by all means: discuss them with colleagues but also remember nothing has changed just yet.

"The Staff Side to PNB still have an opportunity to minimise some of the disadvantages delivered in the findings. I think we should continue to acknowledge and support the work they have put in and trust them to do their best to finalise things for us."

For more information, please click on the links below.

Full Award
Winsor Part 1 PAT Submission
PFEW Guide to Winsor Part 1 negotiations

The decision of the Police Arbitration Tribunal (PAT) considering the Winsor report recommendations will not be announced until the New Year, it has been revealed.

Ian Rennie, General Secretary of the Police Federation and its chief negotiator, explains: “As you will be aware, the PAT hearing into the Winsor Part 1 recommendations concluded on 22 November. Typically, a decision would be delivered within three to four weeks, which would have meant that the decision of the PAT would have been published just before Christmas.

“The PAT Secretary has been in contact with the Staff Side and has informed us that a decision will not be made prior to the New Year. We hope to have a decision in early January and we will keep you informed of developments.”

Home Secretary Theresa May has paid tribute to officers’ heroism and selflessness in tackling the summer riots in her Christmas message to the police service.

To read the full message, please click here.

The Department of Education has issued advice for essential workers who may want to take children out of school during term-time due to holiday restrictions during the Olympic Games.

Please click here for more information.

Most people trust the police to tell the truth and do not think corruption is common, according to a new report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).

The report, Without Fear Or Favour, has been welcomed by Paul McKeever, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales.

But he has also raised concerns about proposed changes to governance which could affect the public's perception of the police service.

"It is right that HMIC identifies areas which the public consider could leave the police service vulnerable to accusations of corruption and that we put safeguards and tighter controls in place to ensure that confidence is maintained," Paul says.

"The report recognises the importance of clear national standards. This is hugely important for the future integrity of the police service as we face an unprecedented level of structural changes in 2012 including the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners, whose priorities could be based upon populism and seeking re-election.

"This type of change could endanger the open and transparent nature of police governance and we would not wish to see the same accusations of corruption we have witnessed in the governance structure in the policing model in the USA mirrored here in the UK, with front-line police officers bearing the brunt of public frustration.”

Leaders of the Police Federation have written to the Home Secretary stating Tom Winsor does not have their trust.

Chairman Paul McKeever and General Secretary Ian Rennie wrote the letter following the meeting with the former rail regulator, which was terminated amid allegations Winsor had misrepresented Mr Rennie.

Click here to read the Federation’s letter.

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has welcomed the launch of Lord Stevens’ independent review of policing.

Earlier this month, Lord Stevens said he would be looking at a ‘vast range of things’ in his review including how the governance takes place, operations, people and technology as well as how the reduced budgets will affect the police and how they can be as effective as they can.

Paul McKeever, Chairman of PFEW, said the Federation would be submitting evidence to the review in ‘due course’.

He said: “The last independent review of policing was conducted nearly 50 years ago and we have been calling for a Royal Commission for over a decade now. What we now need is a coherent assessment of policing in the 21st century, not a piecemeal approach.

“We have to get policing right for the public because it is too important to get wrong. We need to listen to the public and find out what they want from their police service, as well as listening to police officers themselves who are struggling at a time when morale is at its lowest.

“Although this is not the full commission we had hoped for, it is certainly a step in the right direction and the Police Federation will play an active part to ensure our views are represented.”

Speaking to the BBC, Lord Stevens said: “The thing that concerns us is the morale, the speed of these changes and the effect of the resources. We know that there is going to be no more money and we want to make sure that when that takes place there is a bit of honesty around those decisions.”

Six universities will be working on the review with Lord Stevens, along with Howard Safir, former commissioner of the New York Police Department.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the review at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool in October.

At the time, she said: “We are setting up an independent review to look at the crime challenges of the 21st century and how policing needs to adapt and respond. Building on the best of British and international policing. Vigorous and challenging on the changes needed. Working with the police not trying to undermine them.”

Stressed detectives are turning to their Federation representatives as counselling services are ‘rapidly diminishing’ – according to an article in this month’s Police magazine, which is available now online.

This month’s issue also reports back on the findings of the Metropolitan Police Federation’s survey into the riots this summer.

More than 8,000 officers replied to the survey and the results did not make happy reading. Health and safety compromised, working excessive hours, poor transport and defective kit were just a few of the gripes from the officers on the ground.

The online magazine also includes an interview with Met commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe who sets out his views on pay and conditions, morale and tackling crime.

The Federation explains why it expects losing police officers to impact on crime levels this Christmas.

The magazine also includes a run-down of the first Police Federation National Detective Forum Awards, which were held to highlight the crucial role of the detective which is under pressure from spending cuts.

To read the full magazine click here.

Keen to learn more about the pressures police officers face, Toby Perkins MP (Lab, Chesterfield) hit the streets with PC Richard ‘Alby’ Illingworth. He wrote an account of his 12-hour ‘shift’ in Plodding On (click here to see the article).

“My respect for the role that constables do was only enhanced by what I saw. A good team of proud people who, in the face of provocation and under extreme pressure, were resolutely... plodding on,” he concluded.

For an extended version of the article, please follow this link:

http://labourlist.org/2011/09/plodding-on-labour-must-back-britains-police/

The Federation's General Secretary has admitted that officers may not get a decision from the Police Arbitration Tribunal (PAT) until after Christmas.

And he has explained that details of the Police Federation's own proposals for savings cannot be revealed while the arbitration process is ongoing.

The PAT hearing started on Tuesday (8 November) and will continue on Tuesday 22 November. "Therefore it is difficult to say whether we will get their decision before or after Christmas," says Ian Rennie, General Secretary and chief negotiator for the Federation.

Following the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) failure to agree on 26 July, the Federation outlined some of its proposals for saving the same amount of money as Winsor's recommendations in a media statement which said: "These include the suspension of superintendents’ and chief officers’ bonus payments for the coming two years, the suspension of the Special Priority Payment (SPP) budget for three years and changes in the payment of casual over-time."

Ian said yesterday: "When the PAT process has concluded and the result is known we will then be able to share specific details of the Staff Side offer and provide further updates. I will keep you informed of developments."

The Government is committed to the principles of fairness and consistency in the treatment of public servants who are facing the prospect of pensions reform, according to police minister Nick Herbert.

The minister issued a statement after a meeting yesterday with the Police Federation, the Superintendents’ Association and the Chief Police Officers’ Staff Association to discuss proposals for pensions reform.

“It will be important that proposals for reform of police pensions show an even-handed approach in comparison with workers across the public services. Future discussions in the Police Negotiating Board should focus on the detail of how to achieve this,” Mr Herbert said.

“You emphasised the importance of giving clarity to officers about the timescales and process for reform moving forward, and I understand this. I therefore committed to write to you shortly to set these out in more detail.”

The Police Arbitration Tribunal (PAT) hearing will go into a second day.

Proceedings were not concluded during yesterday’s hearing so will continue on Tuesday 22 November.

The tribunal is being held after the Official Side and Staff Side of the Police Negotiating Board failed to reach an agreement in July. It is considering the recommendations from the first part of Tom Winsor's review of pay and conditions.

Paul McKeever, Chairman of the Police Federation, told officers at the start of the hearing: “Details of the negotiations remain subject to the PNB/PAT process but we remain hopeful that the arbiters will agree with our concerns about the Winsor Part 1 recommendations and find in our favour.

“We expect the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to keep the promise she made last year to police officers of England and Wales to fight our corner and honour the negotiation process and the decision of the PAT. We remain committed to fighting for the fairest deal for police officers throughout the UK and will endeavour to keep you updated every step of the way.”

A ruling is expected within 28 days of the hearing.

The Government’s shift on public sector pension proposals will be reflected in future discussions on the police pension scheme, according to the Federation’s chief negotiator, Ian Rennie.

Ian, General Secretary of the national Police Federation, spoke out after the Treasury announced this week that people with less than 10 years to retirement would no longer be expected to work longer or draw lower pensions.

“These proposals are conditional on agreement being reached in relation to individual schemes and no mention has been made of the impact of this on the police pension scheme,” Ian explains.

“I understand there is an inevitable read-across and people will want to understand what this means for police officers. However, this is an important new point, which I have been informed will be reflected in future discussions on police pensions at the Police Negotiating Board.”

The Treasury’s Chief Secretary’s said on Wednesday: “I believe it is right that we protect those public service workers who, as of 1 April 2012, have 10 years or less to their pension age. It is my objective that these people see no change in when they can retire, nor any decrease in the amount of pension they receive at their current normal pension age.

“Scheme specific discussions will need to determine the fairest way of achieving this objective, taking full account of equalities impacts and legislation, while ensuring that costs to the taxpayer in each and every year do not exceed the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts of public service pension costs.”

Officers are being urged to register as blood stem cell donors with the charity, Anthony Nolan, to help save the life of a Leicestershire Police inspector.

Inspector Rik Basra is being treated for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and requires a blood stem cell (bone marrow) transplant to save his life, but this must come from a matching donor.

His wife, Kas, said: “There are many families out there going through this nightmare. I, like many others, had little understanding of the donation process. In reality, it is really straightforward and will have little impact, if any, on the donor. However, by registering you will literally be making a life saving decision that could help not only Rik, but so many others.

“This dreadful disease could strike anyone at any age and we all need to work together to get the stem cell database up. Please register by either coming along to an event or registering online and save a life.”

The best match donor is likely to be an Asian person, but there is a shortage of Asian people on both the national and international donor register.

So working with Rik’s family and the Anthony Nolan Trust, Leicestershire Police have organised a programme of events aimed at increasing the number of Asian donors. Men aged between 18 and 30 are the group most likely to be asked to donate.

During Leicester’s Diwali celebrations on Wednesday, 140 people dropped into two centres in the city set up for people to register.

Chief Constable Simon Cole said: “I was at the Diwali event myself and witnessed at first hand the extraordinary response to our appeal. At several stages throughout the event, people were queuing out of the door of both registration centres. It was an incredible and very humbling sight.

“I cannot thank the public enough and I hope this support will continue throughout our campaign to find a donor match for Rik, and other people suffering from blood cancers such as leukaemia.”

Trained volunteers were on hand at the centres to answer questions. People were asked for medical information and a small saliva sample, which will be sent away for tissue typing. Anyone found to be a match for Rik, or one of the 1,600 people in the UK who need a transplant, would at a later date be asked to donate their blood stem cells.

Donation of stem cells is a simple process which in the vast majority of cases is very much like giving blood.

Donors can also register online at www.anthonynolan.org/register - once Anthony Nolan has checked if they are eligible, a saliva kit will be posted to their home.

Former Leicester City and England footballer, Gary Lineker, who has added his support to this campaign, said: “This campaign is very close to my heart as my own son, George, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia when he was only weeks old.

“Thankfully, George’s life was saved by the treatment he received at Great Ormond Street Hospital and he is now a very healthy 19-year-old. However, through my own experience, I can sympathise with and understand the anguish Rik’s family are going through at this time, in trying to find a suitable blood stem cell donor.

“I would personally urge everyone to think about registering to become blood stem cell donor. Please take that positive step – it is your chance to give a leukaemia victim the gift of life.”

Rik, who has two daughters, was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in 2009 and underwent five months of chemotherapy. Recent tests revealed it had returned and he is undergoing further chemotherapy but needs a bone marrow transplant.

National General Secretary Ian Rennie has told the Derbyshire Police Federation Joint Branch Board that he is optimistic the evidence the Federation will be submitting to the Police Arbitration Tribunal (PAT) will provide a compelling case for the tribunal not to accept Winsor’s recommendations for changes to police pay and conditions of service.

But he urged officers to arrange to see their MPs in their consistuencies, saying these face to face meetings were having an effect with MPs putting pressure on Government ministers to reconsider the proposed cuts to policing.

Ian attended October’s meeting of the Joint Branch Board to give an update on the national situation.

“I am grateful for the invitation and opportunity to speak to you all,” he told officers, explaining that he would talk about three areas of concern – Winsor 1, due to be considered by the PAT on 8 November, Winsor 2, due to be published in January, and Hutton’s review of pensions, the consultation for which was due to commence at the Police Negotiating Board.

“It’s a very difficult place we are in at the moment; interesting and challenging,” he said.

Starting with pensions, he explained the Federation was concerned the proposed increase in contributions was more about reducing the country’s financial deficit rather than dealing with any underfunding of the police pension schemes.

There were also quite a number of technical difficulties surrounding the proposed change from the existing pension schemes to a career average pension scheme that would need to resolved.

The General Secretary said the Federation would fight to protect officer pensions with the best professional advice available but officers needed to be aware that police pensions are only subject to consultation with no right of appeal to independent arbitration.

Turning to Winsor Part 1, he said there was light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to a slow-burning campaign of influence that was making MPs understand the impacts of reducing police numbers and cutting budgets.

He repeated his comments at this year’s Police Federation conference when he told officers: “All you get for less is less, you can’t get more for less, it’s impossible.”

The failure to agree registered by the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) in July – despite an alternative package of savings put forward by the Federation - meant that PAT would now consider Winsor’s recommendations. The PAT is expected to report its findings within 28 days. Questions remained over whether the Home Secretary would abide by the ruling but Ian felt confident that she would as she had given a commitment to the process and had advocated fairness on several occassions.

A group of officers from Derbyshire had been involved in a focus group set up by the national Federation to include the members’ views in its submission to Winsor 2 and Ian thanked them for their input. The Federation had submitted its evidence to Winsor 2, which included a number of independent reports all of which are available on the website at www.polfed.org

Afterwards, Mark Pickard, Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation, said: “Ian Rennie is our chief negotiator and has been working very hard on our behalf. We are extremely grateful to him for taking time out of his hectic schedule to talk to our JBB. I would only re-iterate what he said and urge all officers to make an appointment to see their MPs. We have sent out MPs’ details in Plodding On but if anyone needs any advice about this please contact your Federation representative or the office staff.”

The Home Secretary has once again claimed that reducing police numbers will not affect forces’ ability to respond to major incidents such as the August riots.

Theresa May says the police service can transform the way services are provided, cut crime but reduce costs.

And, in a letter to Federation Chairman Paul McKeever and General Secretary Ian Rennie, she repeated her assertion that it is not the total number of officers employed but the total number deployed, and how effectively they are used.

However, her views, revealed in a letter to Police Federation leaders, have been criticised by Mark Pickard, Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation.

“The Home Secretary seems to believe the police service has been sat on its hands for years waiting for her to come like a caped crusader to our rescue to show us how to cut crime and costs. In Derbyshire we have had eight continuous years of cutting crime and, halfway through our ninth year, we are still cutting crime,” says Mark.

“We have also been at the forefront when it comes to saving money and working efficiently. Few can teach Derbyshire Constabulary about cutting your cloth to suit. We are losing 123 police officers, the equivalent of Manchester United playing a sell-out match at Pride Park with absolutely no police presence in the city or in and around the ground to keep people feeling safe and secure.

“I find it ironic when the Home Secretary tells us that cutting crime does not equate to numbers of officers yet when they needed to stop the crime in London they flood it with 16,000 officers; the same number we are losing across the country due to the 20 per cent cuts.

“If there are more riots and we send officers to the area they have to come from somewhere. Most riot trained officers are uniformed and as such are the front-line. The support in places like London comes from the front-line. We do not have the facility of a bank of officers waiting for a call to supplement that front-line. No, when they are taken they have to be back filled, usually at a cost to the force, money they have not got.

“The Home Secretary talks of hot spots, targeted policing and so on but this is nothing new; we have worked this way for years and realise this is an efficient way to tackle crime and disorder. It still comes down to having enough officers to do this, the loss of 123 in Derbyshire alone does not help us to continue with our proven methods of policing. “I sit here with my tongue in my cheek saying, thank goodness for the caped crusader, Theresa May. We can all sleep soundly knowing she has come to our rescue.”

In her letter, Theresa May argued: “Taking any reasonable estimate of the potential change in the total number of police officers over the Spending Review period, there is no question that it will still be possible to deploy from this underlying workforce base a large number of officers on a short-term, targeted basis as was necessary over the summer,” Mrs May wrote in a letter to Police Federation leaders.

“I know that leaders in the service understand and accept this and I also know that it is true that the service has demonstrated time and again in the past its ability to respond to significant public order incidents in times when total police workforce numbers were far smaller than they are now or might be in the future.”

The Home Secretary says a ‘robust academic review’ of more than 40 international studies published by the Campbell Collaboration in September supports her argument.

“By geographically targeting police resources, using initiatives such as hotspots policing, problem-oriented policing, crackdowns and patrols, significant reductions in crime and disorder can be achieved and those benefits may spread wider beyond those areas initially targeted,” she wrote.

And she concluded: “It is clear evidence like this, as well as the efficiency and productivity opportunities highlighted by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary over the last year, that shows that it is possible for the police service to rise to the challenge before it: transform the way services are provided and deliver on its core mission of cutting crime, whilst cutting its costs.”

The Home Secretary was responding to a letter from Federation leaders who asked for evidence after the Home Secretary said at the Superintendents’ Association conference in September the anticipated 16,000 reduction in police numbers would not have an adverse impact on the police service’s ability to respond to major public order incidents, such as the August riots, in the future.

In their letter they said: “We would reiterate our position that the Police Federation of England and Wales is not resistant to change. However, any change must be based on facts and evidence, not beliefs and rumour.

“The use of misinformation to support the proposed police cuts is both damaging to the police service and undermines the public perception of police officers and their ability to serve the public.”

HRH Prince Charles was among those who honoured officers who have died in the line of duty during this year’s National Police Memorial Day (NPMD) at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall.

The Prince is patron of the NPMD.

Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland, Theresa May, Home Secretary, and Kenny MacAskill MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, also attended the service.

Derbyshire was represented by Federation Chairman Mark Pickard who said: “It was an honour to represent Derbyshire officers. It was a humbling experience for me.”

Alex Salmond read out the names of the officers who had died in the line of duty in the last year. They were:

PC Scott Eastwood-Smith - Metropolitan Police
PC Ian Swadling - Metropolitan Police
PC Ronan Kerr - Police Service of Northern Ireland
Sgt Terry Easterby - Kent Police
PC David McPherson - Lothian and Borders Police
Supt Neil McCover - Strathclyde Police

The bidding was led by The Most Reverend David Chillingworth, Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane, and the Right Reverend Joseph Devine, Bishop of Motherwell.

This was followed by a dedication of the National Police Memorial Day crown finial by Canon David Wilbraham, national police chaplain.

Candles from were lit by relatives of the honoured officers and blue petals of remembrance were scattered before a police bugler sounded The Last Post and Reveille.

The NPMD 2012 will take place at York Minster on Sunday 30 September.

The Police Arbitration Tribunal hearing will be held on Tuesday 8 November, it has been confirmed.

The tribunal is being held due to the failure of the Official Side and Staff Side of the Police Negotiating Board to reach an agreement in July.

It will consider the recommendations from the first part of Tom Winsor’s review of pay and conditions.

The Prime Minister has been told that actions speak louder than words, as the Federation continues its pressure on the Government during this week's Conservative Party conference in Manchester.

The Federation has placed an advertisement in The Independent newspaper featuring a photo of David Cameron, with a quote from a speech he gave after the riots in August:

"They are a thin blue line. They work on our behalf; they put themselves at risk and we should thank them and praise them for what they have done."

It then says: "Prime Minister, actions speak louder than words."

The Federation has taken out a series of "Cuts are criminal" themed adverts in The Independent this week has also used a "Numbers matter" advert in digital media showing officers tackling riots.

At Tuesday's Tory Party conference session, a team of people handed out bananas with the message "Cutting police by 20% is bananas" to delegates on their way into the main hall.

And on Monday, the Federation hosted a fringe meeting on policing with chairman Paul McKeever, ACPO president Sir Hugh Orde and Superintendents' Association president Derek Barnett talking about the future of policing.

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has submitted its evidence to Part 2 of the Winsor review into pay and conditions.

The PFEW was required to submit evidence for the second part of the review despite the fact Tom Winsor's first set of recommendations have not yet been accepted and are still awaiting the outcome of an arbitration hearing.

Derbyshire was chosen to hold a focus group for the Federation with 12 officers from Federated ranks attending the office in South Normanton to give their views on Winsor Part 2 and thus form part of the response.

"The feedback from the national Federation is that Derbyshire officers were well prepared for this event and were impressive in giving their evidence and views," says Mark Pickard, Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation.

In the submission, the Federation criticises recommendations made in the first part of the report for an unsocial hours payment as it would ‘reward officers for duty at particular times of day’.

And it goes on to state that any form of regional pay would be ‘extremely divisive’ in a national police service, saying the national payscale allows for collaboration, secondment and mutual aid, as well as for the transfer of officers from one force to another.

In developing the submission, the Federation commissioned a number of independent reports from external experts.

The submission says over-time is a cost-effective alternative to employing more police officers with the money spent on it at forces across England and Wales ‘generally low’ and reducing.

It says that a ‘statutory body to negotiate pay and conditions is essential given the restrictions on police officers which prevent them from taking any form of industrial action’.

Back in March, Tom Winsor delivered the first part of his review to reduce police officers’ pay and conditions of service, and proposed the removal of nearly £500 million a year from the police pay bill.

The report also outlines concerns over changing entry routes to the service: “The PFEW believes that every officer promoted must have served at every rank below that to which they are promoted, and is therefore against any proposal which would allow external candidates to join the service above the rank of constable.”

A row over the Winsor report into pay and conditions has started after it was alleged some of the officers mentioned do not even exist.

As disclosed in Sunday’s Observer newspaper, accusations are rife that former rail regulator Tom Winsor misrepresented the views of officers.

“This story has been brewing for some time,” explained Mark Pickard, Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation, “In our August edition of Plodding On, I pointed out that Winsor seemed to have forgotten that officers knew about evidence and that our own detective work had revealed some of the officers he mentioned did not exist in the forces named and that others denied the comments attributed to them.

“I believe there are questions already being asked in Federation quarters as well as on social networks as to whether Mr Winsor has committed a criminal offence if indeed there are parts of his evidence in the report that are shown to be false or misleading. However, I will leave that to the experts who are probably looking at it as we speak.”

Leicester East MP Keith Vaz, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, has now suggested he might summon Winsor to explain himself.

In July, the Police Federation asked Winsor to ‘verify the evidence presented’ in his report, as the ‘comments appeared to directly contradict the views of officers articulated to the Police Federation’.

Now in a letter leaked to The Observer, which was sent to Winsor and copied to Keith Vaz, the Federation says it has discovered some officers interviewed ‘do not actually exist and many of those that do have rejected the statements attributed to them’.

These include two officers, purportedly from Kent police, who were named in the report but were not known to the force. The letter says a third officer from Kent quoted in the report “had not spoken to you because he was on holiday”.

It goes on to say: “Another officer said about the statement attributed to him: ‘It was not me … I basically told him I have no money as it is, and asked him not to take any more off me, as I have three children to feed and clothe’.”

The Winsor review is described as “the most comprehensive review of police officer and staff pay and conditions in over 30 years”.

The Home Affairs Select Committee has previously issued a report suggesting Winsor should “consult with police more widely before making any further recommendations”.

Winsor told the committee he had interviewed 200 police officers and staff. His first report identified 69 officers by name and rank and he claimed front-line officers and staff he interviewed said morale was low because they were receiving the same pay, and in some cases less, than those in ‘back office’ roles.

Responding to the Federation’s claims, Mr Vaz told the Observer: “I was most surprised to see the letter from the Police Federation and their concerns that the evidence that Tom Winsor gave to the select committee contained information that was not accurate. I am sure that the committee will want to look at these matters again and I will be writing today to Mr Winsor to ask him to confirm the evidence he has given. If he does not do so, I will expect him to be recalled by the committee.”

A spokesman for the Winsor review said: “All of the names were given by officers themselves or by their supervisors subsequently. Contrary to what the Police Federation has alleged, the Winsor report does not attribute any statement to any named police officer or police staff member.”

The Police Federation’s national Chairman Paul McKeever has welcomed the news from Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper that former Scotland Yard chief Lord Stevens will lead an independent review of policing that will shape future Labour policies.

But Mark Pickard, Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation, has added a degree of caution.

“I welcome Yvette Cooper’s announcement. She has repeatedly said that if the Government did not respond to the Federation’s call for a Royal Commission on policing Labour would instigate its own independent review so it’s good to see she is true to her word,” Mark explained.

“But I but cannot get too enthusiastic about it as it’s very easy to say all and everything when in opposition!”

Speaking during the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool last week, the national chairman said: “The cuts are going to be much deeper than were even envisaged by the Government. This is a really serious time for policing. It is a really serious time for those who joined to serve our communities.”

He also accused the Government of ‘playing fast and loose’ with the public’s safety by cutting police numbers saying the planned reforms would lead to “unintended consequences and failure”.

“It has already been said this morning that the first duty of any government is the safety of its citizens. We believe the Government is playing fast and loose with the safety of the communities we represent.

“It is also worth reflecting as well on the way the Government talks about us, that change, reform, cuts have to be forced through quickly, even more quickly, even more radically. But when I heard them speaking about the Vickers report on banking we were told that they had to be introduced slowly, over a number of years, so as to avoid unintended consequences and failure.”

He said the Government’s claim that cuts to the police stood at six per cent was wrong and that it was actually somewhere between 26 per cent and 32 per cent when taking into account inflation and the reduction of the council tax precept.

The Police Federation of England and Wales is continuing to run adverts in national newspapers during the political party conference season to highlight the likely consequences of the 20 per cent cuts.

The latest advert to be placed in The Independent features an image of a criminal trying to break through a door with a crowbar and states ‘Consequences of 20% cuts to policing?’

It also carries the Police Federation campaign logo ‘Cuts are criminal’.

The advert appeared in the paper during the Labour Party conference in Liverpool last week.

The Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, Paul McKeever, together with other Federation representatives, hosted a well attended fringe meeting at the conference. He, and speakers including Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, ACPO President Sir Hugh Orde and President of the Superintendents’ Association Derek Barnett, highlighted the dangers of the Coalition’s plans to slash the policing budget by 20 per cent at a time when crime is on the rise.

This latest advert comes after images reminding Liberal Democrats of their promise to put 3,000 more officers on the street were also published in The Independent on Monday 19 September – the day of the Liberal Democrat debate on law and order.

The adverts have been funded by the Police Federation of England and Wales.

Officers who responded to calls for mutual aid during the riots in August demonstrated just how flexible the police service is, according to Mark Pickard, Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation.

Mark has spoken out to praise officers but also to criticise the Government for its assertions that the police service needs to be more flexible.

“I find it remarkable that we have been told repeatedly by politicians that Police Regulations have created an inflexible workforce,” he explains, “The policing operation put in place to quell the riots showed the total flexibility of the British police service. We managed to get 16,000 officers to safeguard the streets of London more or less overnight meanwhile it took three days to get 500 plus MPs back from holiday to discuss the riots in Parliament.

“What is even more remarkable is that the man who put forward these recommendations, Tom Winsor, also says in his report ‘

The first duty of Government is the protection and safety of the people. The police and security services, together with the armed forces, are the most important instruments by which this objective is attained. In the internal affairs of the state, the lack of efficient and effective policing – visible or otherwise – would deny public safety and anarchy, or something dangerously close to it, would prevail. The police are therefore one of the most vital of our public services’.

Mark continues: “On the back of the riots and the incredible sacrifices made by officers from across the country, the public have made their views very clear; they fear cuts to their police service and are adamantly against them. The loss of 16,000 officers due to the proposed 20 per cent cuts - along with further attacks on police officers’ conditions and the consequent loss of morale - only adds to the uncertainty felt by the public and officers alike.”

A total of 25 Derbyshire officers, including one inspector, three sergeants and 21 constables, were in London for four days.

A further 20 officers travelled to Nottingham and two dog officers were seconded to Greater Manchester Police.

The chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales has praised the commitment of officers who travelled to London and helped bring order back to the streets of the capital.

Paul McKeever said: “Their bravery, fortitude and commitment demonstrated to the public the best qualities of the finest police service in the world. The gratitude of the communities we serve was evident in the support officers received from numerous quarters.

“Officers in many parts of the country even found themselves being applauded as they patrolled the streets. They richly deserved that applause.”

Paul slammed the Government for ‘wholly disregarding’ the Police Federation’s warnings in May this year and previously in 2010 that riots were on the horizon. He also criticised ministers’ reaction to the violence.

He said: “During the riots people died, families were burnt out of their homes and thousands of businesses were damaged. Let us be clear. The cessation of the riots had nothing to do with a few politicians eventually finding their way back to their desks. The rioting was stopped by tens of thousands of police officers bravely putting their lives on the line for their communities.”

Paul continued: “The reward for police officers who have continued to put in a magnificent effort since the riots was the announcement delivered with indecent haste by Government that the cuts would not just continue but they would be speeded up; extraordinary.”

He explained the savings Government will make through cutting the policing budget are a fraction of one per cent and insisted the damage the cuts could cause communities is ‘completely disproportionate to any savings made’.

The national chairman said since Parliament had been back from recess there had been no engagement with the Police Federation.

He also accused the Government of being ‘completely out of touch with the reality of policing’ after think tank Policy Exchange released a report suggesting police officers should wear uniform when travelling to work.

He said: “Those in Government expect us to put our lives on the line and now they expect us to put our families and friends lives on the line too. No extra pay, no back up, no thanks. Outrageous.

“The Government has no idea where they are going with policing beyond the reality of 20 per cent cuts. They are taking huge risks with the safety of the public, the police service and the health, future and well-being of police officers.”

The Police Federation of England and Wales has welcomed a Home Affairs Select Committee report looking at the Government’s proposals for policing reform.

The document, entitled ‘New Landscape of Policing’, recommends the Government revises its timetable for introducing the changes due to concerns the Government may not be able to meet its own targets.

Mark Pickard, Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation, says the coalition should think again.

“ It is clear the select committee was set up for a purpose. In these ‘austere’ times much time and money has been spent to gather the evidence that has led to this report,” says Mark.

“These are learned people of experience and their views should be considered by the Government. I cannot see where we differ from the NHS where the proposals from a review have been considered and are to be less radical and in slower time.

“We have always used the term ‘too fast, too deep’ and this has not changed. If the Government blindly bypass all considered opinion then they will find the people that really matter will suffer, the communities we serve and the most vulnerable in our society.

Among the recommendations in the report are revolutionising IT as it is currently ‘not fit for purpose’, delaying the phasing out of the National Policing Improvement Agency until the end of 2012, urgently appointing a head of the new National Crime Agency and offering more support to forces to collaborate with one another.

Paul McKeever, Chairman of the Police Federation, said: “It is a terrible shame that it has been left to a Select Committee to highlight and examine the current approach to the biggest reform of the service since the 1960s. The Government is choosing to ignore our warnings about the impact of planned reform and more worryingly they have turned a blind eye to the public's concerns about cuts to policing.

"We are not asking the Prime Minister to scrap all of the plans for reform, we are simply asking that he and his Cabinet pause, and take time to reflect and listen to what the men and women who police our streets are saying. Officers feel they are being attacked from every side but more demoralising for them is that they feel the Government has made a firm decision to ignore everything rank and file officers are saying."

To read the report, go to http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmhaff/939/93902.htm

The Liberal Democrats promised 3,000 officers to patrol the streets of Britain in their 2010 election manifesto.

So to remind them of this, the Police Federation of England and Wales has placed an advert on the back page of the Independent newspaper today – the day of the Liberal Democrat debate on law and order during the party’s conference at the ICC in Birmingham.

The newspaper is being distributed within the ICC arena and the advert will also feature in the 200,000 copies of the newspaper printed and distributed throughout the UK.

The advert features a picture of Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg and urges the party to ‘Keep your promise. Cuts are criminal’.

In February 2010, the Liberal Democrats outlined proposals to swap the ID cards scheme with 3,000 more police officers. Nick Clegg said it was "time for things to change" and that, using the money saved from scrapping ID cards, he would employ more officers.

Click here to see the advert.

Police officers should travel to and from work in their uniforms to help increase visibility, according to the Policy Exchange think tank.

But the Police Federation says the move could put officers and their families at risk.

And Derbyshire Police Federation Chairman Mark Pickard believes that since officers already have a duty to intervene in incidents even when off-duty any advantage of an increase in visibility would be outweighed by a number of disadvantages.

“If our officers wore their uniforms when travelling to work and returning home it could expose them – and their families – to threats and reprisals,” he explains.

“From a practical perspective, officers would also have to safely store protective equipment in a secure area at home.

“But there could also be a resource management issue. If officers were approached to help with issues on their way to and from work then the LPU or department where they are stationed could find itself with no officers available for duty and perhaps no way of knowing where they were.

“This Policy Exchange report is just another example of a think tank coming up with ideas that don’t really fit with the reality of policing.”

The report ‘The real cost of the cops’ was published on Monday.

Click on the link to see the full report.

Guidance has been issued to officers and police staff about taking children out of school during term time as a result of the annual leave restrictions in place for the 2012 Olympics.

In recent months, officers at Derbyshire Constabulary and other forces across the country have been asking whether any arrangements have been made with the Department of Education (DoE) to allow officers and police staff to remove their children from school during term time in 2012

This will enable them to take family holidays that would otherwise not have been possible due to annual leave restrictions resulting from Olympic-related duties.

Following these concerns, the Home Office has made contact with the DoE and the following guidance has been issued via the Olympic Co-ordination Team:

"The Government takes attendance very seriously because there is clear evidence that any absence from school can and does impact on children’s attainment. It follows that schools should keep any leave of absence granted to a minimum.

“The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 state that head teachers may grant leave of absence for the purpose of family holidays during term time. They also state that the application must be made in advance and the head teacher must be satisfied that there are special circumstances which warrant the leave.

“It is for each school to decide what constitutes special circumstances. However, the Department would consider that a ban on summer leave for serving officers in the police force during the summer of 2012, because of capacity issues during and around the time of the Olympics, would constitute a special circumstance that would warrant the head teacher considering granting leave of absence for the purpose of family holiday during term time, subject to minimal disruption to the pupil's education.

“The Department looks to schools themselves to consider each request for holiday absence on its merits. Each request can only be judged on a case-by-case basis taking into account individual circumstances, such as the child's attainment, attendance and ability to catch up on missed schooling and the proximity of key dates for tests and examinations. The school should also take into account any extenuating circumstances, such as the inflexibility of leave patterns for parents. While leave of absence might be granted for a term time holiday, it is granted entirely at the head's discretion, and is not a parental right.

“We would not consider altering the recording and reporting arrangements for leave of absence during term time as it is important that schools have an accurate record of the amount of education a pupil has missed; this will help to identify those pupils that might need additional support."

The union representing prison workers has written to the chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales to voice its support of the police’s handling of the recent disorder.

Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Professional Trades Union for Prison, Correctional and Secure Psychiatric Workers (POA) wrote to Paul McKeever to say the recent actions of officers had demonstrated their ‘professionalism and bravery’.

He also expressed his belief that the Government should re-think the budget cuts which it has planned for the police service.

In his letter Mr Gillan said: “Police officers and indeed the Police Federation have acted with dignity even when provoked by ridiculous comments from commentators and politicians who should know better.

“Instead of point scoring politicians of all parties surely must join together and force a complete re-think on budget cuts to the whole Criminal Justice System.”

He concluded: “The POA recognises the difficult job that your members do and I send a message of support to you and your colleagues on behalf of the POA.”

Theresa May has insisted the Government’s plans for police cuts will go ahead and repeated her claims that they will not mean there are fewer officers on the streets.

The Home Secretary gave a speech on Tuesday (16 August) defending the Coalition’s proposals for policing after the riots brought widespread media and public support for a halt to the cuts.

She said it was not about the number of police officers employed but the number deployed.

“The Police Federation has repeatedly called on the Government to think again and expressed its concerns about the effect these cuts will have on officers’ ability to keep our communities safe, fight crime and protect vulnerable people,” says Mark Pickard, Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation.

“In the wake of the riots, our stance was supported by Sir Hugh Orde, who heads ACPO, and the acting commissioner for the Met who defended his officers and their actions when the early handling of the riots was criticised by the Prime Minister.

“Even Boris Johnson, the Conservative mayor of London, said he thought the Government should re-think its plans for 20 per cent cuts to policing budgets. We have also had support from the public with the majority of people questioned in polls conducted by The Guardian and The Times supporting calls for the Government to reconsider cuts to policing.

“Nevertheless, the Home Secretary has come out again saying that the cuts are necessary to help tackle the budget deficit and that they won’t affect front-line policing.”

During her speech Mrs May did praise the bravery of officers and admitted that many felt their hands were tied when trying to tackle rioters saying “they were damned if they do and damned if they don’t’.

She promised her support: “As long as you act within reason and the law, I will never damn you if you do.”

The Home Secretary called for robust policing, backed by community support with strong, enforceable powers so that forces could deal with gangs, criminality and anti-social behaviour and also suggested new curfew powers.

She also argued that rather than 20 per cent cuts, they actually amounted to six per cent due to local funding.

The Government should work with officers to deliver a police service of which everyone can be proud, according to Julie Nesbit, chair of the Police Federation’s Constables’ Central Committee (CCC).

The constables’ leader spoke out after the Home Secretary’s speech on Tuesday 16 August in which she raised key questions in response to the rioting the week before.

Julie gave the following responses to the questions asked by Mrs May.

How successful was last week’s response?

The policing of the riots by forces from across England & Wales was successful due to the police regulations under which all police officers operate. These allow chief officers to keep police officers on duty, recall them back to duty and even cancel their days off or holidays. Those same regulations also mean officers can be moved to other parts of the force area or even country to work. As the Home Secretary rightly identified, many officers had travelled long distances to police the riots and then having completed extended tours of duty did not even have a bed to sleep in. These men and women placed themselves in harm’s way and dealt effectively with whatever was thrown at them.

Truly remarkable people, truly a flexible workforce.

At the same time that officers were policing the riots our communities across England and Wales still policing, business as usual. Due to the mutual aid call out in many areas, fewer officers were available. The consequence of this was that many communities were more vulnerable. If our communities lose 16,000 officers everyone will be more vulnerable and less safe.

How can we ensure forces are effective?

In England and Wales we police by consent and this method of policing is revered across the world. The community is at the heart of policing and we must ensure that the policing of the future has the continued support of its communities.

As part of the community, we don’t just deal with crime we deal with all manner of problems, it’s what we do; it’s what our communities want us to do; and that is why we must maintain officer numbers.

The Home Secretary has told us to just cut crime. Is she confident that this is all that our communities want and expect of the police? The PFEW knows from a survey it commissioned earlier this year that the public don’t just want the police to cut crime.

Over recent years, the police service has recruited officers from many diverse backgrounds. This helps maintain links with communities.

The freeze on recruitment and loss of numbers will have a detrimental impact on our ability to engage with the public.

For police officers to be effective morale needs to be high, officers need to be respected and valued.

How can we ensure that forces are efficient?

The Government has a difficult job to do in balancing the books, however, law and order is too important an issue to be sold off to the lowest bidder. The PFEW understands that savings have to be made; we have shown at the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) that we are willing to work on savings. The Government needs to listen to its electorate to ensure that we have a police service fit for the 21st century; a service that is demoralised will become ineffective and inefficient. It is right to tackle bureaucracy; it is not right to simply slash budgets.

How can we ensure that forces are robust?

Robustness for police officers comes in many guises. To be robust in any confrontational situation officers need to know that they have sufficient resources, training, equipment and support to do their job; that the authorities to whom we are accountable will support our actions and that the criminal justice system will reinforce the actions of the police by bringing the full weight of the law to bear on criminals.

Ill thought-out and rushed new policy based upon knee-jerk reaction are unhelpful and breed problems for the future. Policing is suffering disjointed and disparate reviews, the events of last week bring more still.

The sensible option that would deliver a robust, relevant, modern and transparent service would be to hold a Royal Commission into policing.

How can we ensure that forces are well led?

We need to ensure that people still want to join the police service at constable rank, constables who will have the opportunity to experience and witness at first-hand the complexities of policing. Those who then wish to progress through the ranks will be best placed to go on to develop management and strategic skills to prepare them for leadership within the service.

How can we ensure that forces are accountable?

Every police officer in England and Wales is accountable for their actions and in-actions both on and off duty. Officers are accountable to the public who have access to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Officers are accountable in their performance through the rank structure and development process. As has been seen during the recent riots officers are scrutinised by the Government, the public and the media. Is this not enough accountability?

The CCC is proud of our colleagues from across England and Wales who continue to show great dignity and professionalism.

The latest updates on pensions, PNB, Winsor 2, the HMIC Adapting To Austerity report and the Cuts are criminal campaign are covered in the latest Federation News issued by the national Police Federation.

For more information on any of these issues, please follow this link.

More riots by mindless thugs who have no respect for law and order and the property and prosperity of their community sees the police service under the microscope yet again for its response to the vandalism and lawlessness, says Julie Nesbit, chairman of the Police Federation’s Constables’ Central Committee (CCC).

Julie, whose comments have been backed by Tony Howarth, Chairman of the Constables’ Branch Board of Derbyshire Police Federation, says the TV news footage during the riots showed brave police constables facing serious violence from missiles to fire bombs.

“Over recent months officers have had our numbers, pay and conditions attacked by a government which doesn't seem to understand the vital role we play in ensuring our communities are safe,” she explains.

“What our colleagues from the Met, West Midlands and other forces have shown is that we are special. Our job and place in society is unique and that should be recognised by those trying to reform the way we work and our pay.

“The safety and security of our communities need to be supported by more than fine words from politicians. They have a responsibility to ensure the police service has the proper resources, rewards and officer numbers to police. Quite simply, if there are not enough officers on our streets there is no law.”

Tony Howarth says in a message supporting the national constables’ leader: “Since the weekend thousands of constables across England and Wales, many of whom have been called away from their families to travel to cities across the UK, have faced untold dangers. In many instances they have been on duty for more than 20 hours without complaint.

“They do so willingly because when they joined they knew that was their side of the bargain. We hope that when this all over the Government, in particular Theresa May, Nick Herbert, remember their side.”

At the Police Federation’s annual conference in May this year, the CCC asked the Government to support the police to support their communities. Now, leaders of the constables are calling on the Government to urgently review its position on policing to ensure that the police cannot only uphold law and order but maintain it.

“Constables are the front-line; they deserve our thanks for being in that role. We pay tribute to our brave colleagues and wish those who have been injured a speedy recovery,” Julie adds.

Derbyshire’s MPs have been asked to call on the Government to re-think its planned cuts to policing in the wake of this week’s riots.

With concerns about stretched resources and falling officer numbers, Ian Godfrey, Secretary of Derbyshire Police Federation, has written to the county’s MPs outlining his concerns,

His open letter says:

I am the Secretary of Derbyshire Police Federation Joint Branch Board and I write to you on behalf of all of my members, 1977 constables, sergeants and inspecting ranks working in the county.

I am sure you are fully aware of the disorder currently sweeping the country and of the unprecedented numbers of police officers who have been sent to London to bolster the numbers of the Metropolitan Police.

I felt you would be interested to know that officers from Derbyshire’s Federated ranks are playing their part in this operation.

Twenty-two officers were “called out” at around 2am on Tuesday 9 August and were mobilised to London. They were told to expect to be away from their families for a number of days.

Without hesitation, they answered the call to duty and worked straight through to around 2am on Wednesday 10 August.

I kept in contact with them throughout yesterday and know that they were deployed to a series of incidents around the Metropolitan area, not knowing what they were going to face at any incident.

Welfare provisions were not good, but they continued to perform their duty to the very best of their ability.

I spoke with the inspector in charge of the unit this morning (10 August). He explained that they had had a few hours’ sleep, a shower, a good breakfast and that “today is another day”.

He did not say they had not had their 11 hours’ rest, as set out in the European Working Time Directive.

He did not say they haven’t had a proper meal.

He did not say they have had enough, they are coming home.

He, like the rest of his unit, just got on with doing his job, and I am confident that they will continue to do so until they are no longer required.

I am sure you would wish to join me in publicly showing your support for these Derbyshire officers.

But while this group of officers are out of force, Derbyshire Constabulary has to face up to its commitments locally. As the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are focussed on this one issue, life - and therefore policing - in Derbyshire goes on.

We have no way of knowing how incidents will develop but, come what may, Derbyshire police officers will always do their best to provide a good service to the communities they serve.

I have heard David Cameron announce that the Government will keep 16,000 police officers on the street of London for “as long as it takes”.

A proud boast: I wonder if he has contemplated the costs involved in keeping such numbers on the streets. Has he considered the logistics of this claim?

Our officers, like many involved in the operation, are currently working more than 20 hours a day. It is physically impossible for a human being to sustain that regime for any length of time. That being the case, more officers are required to maintain this level of policing. Officers could work 12 hour shifts; they regularly do when demand requires it. The maths is simple but, to make it plain, that requires 32,000 officers. However to maintain this level of policing for any protracted period would need individuals working around eight hours a day. That would require 48,000 officers.

That would make the capital extremely safe. But what of the people in your constituencies and the communities of Derbyshire as more and more officers are called away to help support the Met?

Clearly, we do not have sufficient police officers to address this dreadful situation for a prolonged period and I think we must all hope that the matter will be brought under control very soon. I will also concede that these are exceptional circumstances.

However, they cannot be seen as a “one-off” and such draws on police resources must be seen as reasonably foreseeable. The country needs a police service that has the resilience to provide for such circumstances and the Government has a duty to ensure that it can keep its citizens protected.

It is with these thoughts in mind that I urge you to contact the Home Secretary and implore her and the Prime Minister to look again at the foolish, ill-thought out and potentially disastrous decision to cut police funding by 20 per cent and therefore inevitably force a reduction in officer numbers.

The Olympics are looming large: similar numbers of officers will be required for that whole period. How on earth can Derbyshire officers continue to be expected to deliver the usual quality of service to the communities of Derbyshire if the Home Secretary continues with her plans to make these cuts and to allow changes to our conditions of service that could irreparably damage a British police service that is the envy of the world?

The cuts will result in the loss of 123 officers in Derbyshire alone. That’s 123 less people available to respond to people’s calls for assistance.

I do hope that you can find time to support the police service that protects your constituencies, the communities of Derbyshire and thereby help our officers in continuing to provide the service that Derbyshire people have, quite rightly, come to expect.

The Police Negotiating Board (PNB) has failed to reach an agreement over pay and the recommendations in Part 1 of the Winsor report, much to the anger and disappointment of representatives of police officers.

The matter will now be referred to the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal (PAT) which will look at evidence from both sides and make its recommendations.

In 2007 when Labour Home Secretary Jacqui Smith failed to honour the PAT findings police marched in protest through London. Now leaders of the Staff Side - representing all officers from constable to chief constable – has on Home Secretary Theresa May to honour the negotiating process.

"We now ask that the Home Secretary, Theresa May, keeps the promise she made last year to the police officers of England and Wales to fight our corner and that the Government honours the negotiation process and the decision of the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal. Staff Side firmly believes that we made every effort to reach an agreement with the Official Side and we remain committed to fighting for the fairest deal for police officers throughout the UK,” says Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation and the Staff Side of PNB.

He believes that during four months of intense negotiations the Staff Side made every effort to reach an agreement on pay and the recommendations in March’s Winsor report putting forward an alternative proposal of reforms that would have delivered equivalent, or more, financial savings to those proposed in the Winsor report. But Staff Side leaders now believe a deal was not achievable as the proposals appear to be about ideologically driven change and not just saving money.

“We worked hard to find alternative reforms that make similar financial savings within the police service but unfortunately these alternatives were rejected by the Official Side. Today, they have made clear that despite Government rhetoric, this is about dogma and not a solution to the fiscal situation the country faces,” says Paul.

"Staff Side made clear from the beginning that we would be unable to agree Winsor's recommendations as an entire package because of the considerable financial hardship its proposals would cause for police officers. We remain concerned that some of Winsor's recommendations would seriously inhibit, and in many cases, damage officers' work-life balance. Also, as identified by Winsor, they impact unfairly on female and black and minority ethnic officers.

"We have repeatedly stated during negotiations, we remain unconvinced by the evidence, analysis or arguments set out in support of many of the Winsor recommendations so we couldn't possibly sign up to them all.

"We offered proposals which deliver savings that match Winsor's proposals. These include the suspension of superintendents' and chief officers' bonus payments for the coming two years, the suspension of the Special Priority Payment (SPP) budget for three years and a reduction in the rate of casual over-time.”

Cuts being implemented by the Government will set the police service back by ‘at least a decade’ – claims Paul McKeever, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales.

He made the statement after the HMIC published its Adapting to Austerity report, a study into the effects of the cuts.

The report claims there will be 34,000 fewer police jobs by March 2015 than in March 2010 and stated there was ‘relatively strong evidence’ that falling staff numbers might lead to a rise in some offences – an argument the Federation has repeatedly put forward in its campaign against the Government proposals.

Mark Pickard, Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation, said: “Ever since the Government started on this cuts crusade we have been saying the same thing – it is not possible to deliver the same level of service to the people in our communities with fewer resources. This HMIC report only goes to back this up.

“We now need to stand together, united for the benefit of the police service and the communities we serve.”

Derbyshire Police and Derbyshire Police Authority are facing a £23 million cash reduction to their budget over the four years of the comprehensive spending review period (2011/12–14/15). In real terms this equates to 11 per cent of their gross revenue expenditure.

Home Office figures reveal there are currently 139,110 officers in England and Wales - 4,625 fewer than March last year.

The annual decrease recorded by March this year was 3.2 per cent. The number of police staff stood at 74,010, a decrease of 5,586 compared with a year earlier. Up to 1,800 community support officers will also be lost due to the budget cuts.

Paul McKeever, Chairman of the national Federation, said: “The HMIC report confirms our worst fears; that cuts being implemented by this Government will turn the clock back at least a decade by reducing police officers and police staff by over 34,000 by 2015. The knock-on effect will be police forces struggling to keep their heads above water as they try to deal with increasing demands and diminishing resources.

“The HMIC made clear last year that the maximum budget cut the police service could sustain is 12 per cent, without there being an adverse effect on the service provided.

“The first duty of Government is the protection of its citizens; this independent report casts serious doubt that this is achievable with the 20 per cent budget cut being imposed and the Government must take due cognisance of this.”

Labour leader Ed Miliband said he was "shocked" by the HMIC figures and said they showed flaws in the Government's strategy of eliminating the deficit.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg admitted the cuts would be "incredibly difficult" but said every effort would be made to try to reduce their impact.

A number of Derbyshire officers attended a Police Federation open meeting in the Central Methodist Hall in Westminster - the first of a number of events designed to protest to the Government about its cuts and reform programme.

Among the guest speakers at the event, which was attended by around 2,500 off-duty officers from across the country, were Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, Sir Hugh Orde, president of ACPO, Derek Barnett of the Superintendents’ Association, and the Police Federation chairman and general secretary, Paul McKeever and Ian Rennie.

“Not only has the Government cut the police budget by 20 per cent but this has coincided with an attack on police officers’ pay and remuneration - again designed to save money. This is seen by officers as a direct attack on the service they provide to the public in their communities,” explains Mark Pickard, chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation.

“The meeting in London was the first time during this campaign that all areas of the police family came together from the Police Federation, the Superintendents’ Association and ACPO. All spoke about the effects of these drastic cuts on all aspects of policing and the seemingly unfair way in which the police service is being expected to take more than its fair share of the burden of cost-cutting measures.”

The meeting was opened by Paul McKeever who set the tone saying that police officers were different to others in the public sector. A film showing just 15 of the officers killed in the line of duty brought home to the audience how officers sometimes made the ultimate sacrifice.

The first guest speaker was David T. C. Davies, Conservative MP and Special Constable, who said that he would prefer to see cuts in other areas – less foreign aid, fewer environmental scheme and less interference in other countries’ internal difficulties.

Ian Rennie, the Federation general secretary, pointed out that no-one was considering the cumulative effect of the reviews on the service and said that the Federation expected the Home Secretary to honour a commitment to the PNB machinery.

Derek Barnett, president of the Superintendents’ Association, explained that no-one understood why the police service was facing a disproportionate burden of financial pain and claimed the most flexible professional and dedicated workforce was being treated shabbily.

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, argued that this was one of the most critical moments in the history of the police service and said that the Government must observe all stages of the negotiating process, adding that to do otherwise would be “a cynical and shameful” abuse of power.

Sir Hugh Orde, ACPO president, pledged to do all he could to get a fair deal for officers.

Elfyn LLwyd, Plaid Cymru leader, called for a u-turn from the Government, explaining that it would be a mark of good governance. He urged the Government to hear the resistance to its proposals and act on it.

Yvette Cooper, shadow Home Secretary, repeated her commitment to a Royal Commission or independent inquiry into policing. She said the use of A19 was a crazy way to approach reform and could end up costing taxpayers more. She also called for a u-turn on funding, saying if the Government could do it for trees it could do it for something as important as policing.

Two chairmen from Joint Branch Boards also addressed the meeting – Peter Smyth from the Met and Andy Gilbert from the West Midlands.

Peter said the increment freeze proposals were wicked and urged members to write to MPs to put pressure on them and in turn on Government ministers.

Andy pointed out the difficult roles the police take on and the effects on their personal lives. He said the cuts in crime meant officers deserved a pay rise not a pay cut and that they earned every penny of their salary, pension and over-time. He called the Tories the party of crime and disorder rather than the party of law and order.

Keith Vaz MP, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, praised the Federation leaders and the police service itself. He said the Home Secretary should honour the negotiating process and backed calls for a Royal Commission. He urged officers to go to see their MPs to get their message across.

Full reports on the meeting will appear in the next edition of Plodding On which is due out in early August.



At the lobby event are (left to right): Mark Pickard (Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation), Ian Godfrey (Secretary of Derbyshire Police Federation) and Ian Rennie (General Secretary of the Police Federation of England and Wales).

Derbyshire officers and PCSOs will be among those receiving a medal to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee next year.

Police officers up and down the country will join other emergency service workers, the armed forces and prison service personnel in receiving the medals during the first half of 2012.

The official medal, which has been launched to mark the Queen’s 60 years on the throne, resembles a 10 pence piece and is inscribed with the Royal symbol. It bears the dates 1952 to 2012.

Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation, Mark Pickard, said: “It is welcome news that police officers are to be recognised in this way. Their hard work and professionalism is second to none.”

Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt, said: "The Queen has dedicated her life to the service of this country and the Diamond Jubilee will offer us all the opportunity to celebrate the commitment, loyalty and faithfulness with which she has led the country across the last 60 years. It is right that we reward those people who, like The Queen, also dedicate their lives to public good and who represent the very best of the British spirit.

"I hope the official medal will serve as a mark of thanks to all those who give so much in the name of society and public service and I extend my congratulations to all the recipients."

Officers who will receive the medal are:

• emergency services personnel who have to face the prospect of dealing with emergencies as part of their conditions of service, and have completed five full calendar years of service on 6 February 2012 and
• all (PCSOs) who are in service on 6 February 2012 and have completed five full calendar years of service.

Five people involved in policing in Derbyshire have been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday List.

Chief Constable Mick Creedon was among those to receive the honour, along with a serving sergeant and a former Police Authority chair.

Mr Creedon was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for his work regionally, nationally and around serious and organised crime.

Former Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent Roger Flint was also awarded the Queen’s Police Medal. He was a BCU Commander between 2001 and 2011, was heavily involved in the International Hostage Negotiation World, the Bureaucracy Taskforce and the Superintendents’ Association.

Former Inspector Peter Taylor was awarded an MBE. Peter retired in 2002 and until recently was the mobile police station officer for the High Peak and Derbyshire Dales area. This covered 517 square miles and provided a regular service to people in isolated areas.

Sergeant Steve Osbaldeston was awarded an MBE for his work in creating Ozbox, a scheme aimed especially at youths between the ages of 12 to 19 years who are involved in crime or anti-social behaviour or spiralling towards it. The idea is to involve them in a gym environment which is based on boxing traditions, with an emphasis on non-contact training.

Also on the honours list is former chairman of Derbyshire Police Authority Janet Birkin, who received an MBE for outstanding public service to the police and to the community in Derbyshire.

Commenting on the awards, Mr Creedon said: “The awards are in recognition of all their hard work and dedication. In each of their own areas, they have made an outstanding contribution and been excellent ambassadors for both the Force and the authority. Well done.”

Around 60 per cent of officers could be better off financially under the recommendations in the Winsor report, according to the former rail regulator.

And Tom Winsor has also argued that police should be given short-term commissions, as used in the armed services, rather than a job for life.

Addressing the Commons Home Affairs Committee, he said that his proposals would create losers and winners.

“Some will lose money but 60 per cent of police officers will actually be better off as a result of the recommendations in my review if they are implemented,” he said.

The Government asked Winsor to review policing in October last year and the first stage of his report, published in March, is currently being considered by the Police Negotiating Board which has been directed to reach agreement in July.

He is aiming to deliver savings with a range of proposals including freezing of incremental rises in payscales, scrapping CRTP and changes to over-time payments.

The second stage of his report, due later this year, could see changes to the structure of police careers with officers signing up for an initial period of five years.

Meanwhile, representatives of Federations across England and Wales are expected to converge at the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster on 13 July before a two-hour lobbying event with politicians.

Officers are being urged to contact their MPs as the Federation campaign against the Winsor report and cuts to police funding reaches a critical stage.

It is now just five weeks until the deadline set by the Home Secretary for the Police Negotiating Board to reach an agreement in its discussions over the Winsor recommendations.

“Our success depends on our members being informed and motivated to respond to our requests for help. The JCC and individual branch boards are important in setting strategy, giving guidance, information and motivation. But this will amount to very little if our members fail to react or rely on their colleagues to do it for them. We need a big push at this important time,” says Mark Pickard, Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation.

“I urge all our members to speak to their MPs and, if need be, form an orderly queue at their door. They may want to attend MPs’ surgeries with their shift. This is a fight we can play a major part in if all our members get involved.

“Officers need to decide this is important to them and let their MPs know how this will affect them and their families but let us not forget how these cuts will affect the communities we serve.”

The Derbyshire JBB is supporting the national Federation which is calling on all members to make their voice heard.

"The Government is inexperienced. It is dogmatic not pragmatic. It has one policy – simply to cut spending - but it is vulnerable," explains Simon Reed, Vice Chairman of the Police Federation.

"It faces daily criticism about foreign aid spending, the Libya conflict and the Big Society myth. The Conservatives are no longer seen as the party of law and order. There is a U-turn a week – university fees, health reforms and sentencing policy. Let us put police reform on that list.

"Regardless of how big a majority a Coalition MP has or how brave and tough they act, all of them - every one - will be uncomfortable if we maintain the pressure on them."

The Federation wants members to:

• Write to their MP, if they haven’t already done so

• Write again to their MP, if they have already contacted them once

• Visit them at their surgery – taking a colleague or colleagues with them. Form a queue outside if necessary

• Email them – again and again, if they refuse any contact.

It has also drawn up a list of key questions, including: has their MP actually read the Winsor report, do they agree with any of the recommendations, and why, are they not concerned that a Federation survey revealed that 98 per cent of officers stated that morale was poor?

Mark Pickard and Ian Godfrey, Secretary of Derbyshire Police Federation, have already spoken to nine out of 11 of our MPs (two could not make the dates).

“We made our case strongly, particularly in relation to officers’ plans for the future on pensions and younger in service officers receiving the double whammy of a pay freeze and increment freeze. These were only two of the issues among the many we lobbied them about,” says Mark, “There is currently a strong push in relation to pensions in the public sector. Our members need to play their part by lobbying their local MPs.”

The MPs’ details are as below. Some give surgery dates, others ask for a phone call to book into their next surgery.

Derby North

Chris Williamson (Labour) – Surgeries held at 9a Theatre Walk, Westfields, Derby DE1 2NG

Next surgeries: Fridays 24 June, 8 and 22 July.

Tel 01332 345636

Derby South

Margaret Beckett (Labour) – Surgeries held at Queens St Leisure Centre, Cathedral Road, Derby DE1 3PA.

Next surgeries: Friday 24 June, Friday 8 July, Saturday 9 July and Friday 22 July.

Tel 01332 345636

Amber Valley
Nigel Mills (Conservative)

Email nigel.mills.mp@parliament.uk

Tel 01773 744341 or 0207 219 72343 to book an appointment.

Bolsover
Dennis Skinner (Labour) – Surgeries held at 1 Elmhurst Close, South Normanton DE55 3NF - call to make an appointment on 01773 581027.

Email skinner@parliament.uk

Chesterfield
Toby Perkins (Labour)

Email toby.perkins.mp@parliament.uk or telephone 01246 386286 to book an appointment.

Derbyshire Dales
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative)

Email patrick.mcloghlin.mp@parliament.uk or telephone 0207 219 3511 to book an appointment.

Erewash
Jessica Lee (Conservative) - Holds weekly surgeries.

Email jessica.lee.mp@parliament.uk or telephone 0115 9722419 to book an appointment.

High Peak
Andrew Bingham (Conservative)

Email andrew.bingham.mp@parliament.uk or telephone 01298 22521 to book an appointment.

Mid Derbyshire
Pauline Latham (Conservative), next surgery 7 July at Little Eaton.

Email – pauline.latham.mp@parliament.uk or telephone 020 7219 7110 to book an appointment.

North East Derbyshire
Natascha Engel (Labour)

There is an online surgery on her website. You can also call 01246 439024 to attend a surgery or email engeln@parliament.uk

South Derbyshire
Heather Wheeler (Conservative)

Surgeries are on Fridays by appointment – telephone 01283 225365 or visit her website www.heatherwheeler.org.uk and use the contact page

The address for all MPs is:

House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

Tel: 020 7219 3000. This is the House of Commons switchboard and you should ask for the office of the MP you wish to speak to.

The Federation is encouraging as many MPs as possible to attend the Westminster lobby event being organised by the Federation on 13 July.

A police inspector has won a claim for equal pay against the Metropolitan Police – after her force refused to pay her for extra hours.

Claire Clark, who works part-time, launched the case after the Force refused to pay for the hours she worked in addition to her part-time hours.

Full-time inspectors are paid for 40 hours a week but do not receive over-time payments when they work over 40 hours.

Insp Clark, from Kensington and Chelsea Borough, worked part-time (32 hours per week) between September 2006 and April 2009, but she often worked extra hours over that period. She was paid for 32 hours per week, even in weeks where she worked longer hours.

This meant that if she and a full-time inspector both worked the same number of hours in excess of 32 hours, the full-time inspector received a higher hourly rate of pay.

The court identified that this was sex discrimination because the overwhelming majority (96 per cent) of part-time inspectors serving in the Metropolitan Police were women, while the overwhelming majority (86 per cent) of full-time inspectors were men.

The court also said this was contrary to Police Regulations which govern the payment of full and part-time police officers.

Ian Rennie, general secretary of the Police Federation, which supported Insp Clark’s case, said: “It is really disappointing that this case has had to go before the court.

“Police officers do not get a choice of whether to work additional hours. They must work as and when directed. The vast majority of part-time officers are women with childcare commitments who are trying to maintain their police career.

“We are pleased the court has recognised that this underpayment was not only unfair but unlawful discrimination against women officers.”

A short video showing some of the highlights of this year’s annual Police Federation conference is available online.

The Police Federation of England and Wales has uploaded the five-minute video to its website www.polfed.org.

Home Secretary Theresa May features in it, with key quotes from her speech and questions put to her from delegates.

The film, entitled ‘Save yOur Service’ opens with Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales saying: “We are the finest police service in the world.”

It also shows snippets from Julie Nesbit, chairman of the Constables’ Central Committee, John Giblin, chairman of the Sergeants' Central Committee a Alan Jones, chairman of the Inspectors’ Central Committee.

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has written an open letter to ACPO, stating it has no confidence in them acting in the best interest of British policing.

Conference passed an emergency motion instructing the Joint Central Committee of PFEW to write an open letter to the Association of Chief Police Officers after chairman of ACPO, Sir Hugh Orde, missed the conference and travelled to Canada instead.

The letter, which is signed by chairman, Paul McKeever and general secretary, Ian Rennie, states: “Had you been in Bournemouth with us, you would have heard first-hand the dissatisfaction and anger that officers in the Federated ranks voiced at the stance taken by ACPO as policing in England and Wales comes under attack from all sides by this Government.

“The Police Federation is looking to ACPO to defend the UK police service. It is the envy of the world, but is in danger of being destroyed by what appears to be, in part, no more than political ideology.

“Our conference has sent a clear message that officers currently have no confidence in ACPO, as an organisation, acting in the best interests of British policing.”

The letter continues: “The service needs to stand together at this critical time and explain the reality of policing to the public, and to the Government. Officers need to be supported for the work they do and the difficult circumstances in which they do it. In particular they need to know that their senior officers support them.

“We urge you to work with us, challenge the Government where necessary, and to modernise the service but not at the expense of the office of constable and the communities they serve.

“The officers working throughout the police service in England and Wales are deserving of greater support from their leaders.”

Sir Hugh has since replied to the letter and has asked for a meeting with Federation leaders.

He explains: “I can say with absolute certainty that every chief officer team is working tirelessly within their force, bearing in mind the very difficult financial situation we are presented with, to cut budgets while preserving the critical service we deliver to the public.

“The reality is that this is extremely challenging: and a number of forces have had to take drastic action to balance budgets. We must be entirely clear about this with our public, with government and with all those who work within the service. Each force is impacted in different ways and many chiefs have articulated this both in public and in private. Without question, the service overall will suffer and reduce. As chief officers our job is to lead policing through these difficult times, remaining focussed on keeping communities safe from harm.”

To read the full letter from Sir Hugh visit: http://www.polfed.org/ACPO_Letter_to_PoliceFederation_270511.pdf

Derbyshire Police Federation representative Sarah Adams seemed to get under Theresa May’s skin during the much-awaited Wednesday morning conference showdown between the Federation and the Home Secretary.

Sarah, a constables’ delegate, asked a question put forward by a Derbyshire officer, towards the end of the traditional question time session following the keynote speeches from Federation chairman and the Home Secretary.

Towards the end of the session, Sarah explained: “Home Secretary, when you were elected as an MP, the Conservative manifesto said: ‘We will continue to spend more on the services which matter most to people – hospitals, schools and the police. We back the police every inch of the way’.

“In 2001, your party said: ‘Conservatives will increase the number of police officers’. And, at our conference last year, you told us: ‘if you come with me, I will make this promise: I will always back you, I will always support you, I will always fight for you’.

“Home Secretary: how can you expect police officers or the communities we serve to trust you or your Government?”

The question was perhaps predictably greeted by applause from officers but Mrs May looked very uncomfortable to say the least. She replied: “I do back the police,” adding that she did not tell the police how to do their job and that she spoke in Parliament in praise of officers’ handling of the cuts protests in London.

She explained that at the time of making the comments, she had not foreseen the massive deficit the Government had inherited and throughout her speech had explained that the cuts would be worse further down the line if measures were not put in place as soon as possible.

For more information about conference, please look out for the special conference edition of Plodding On.

The Government has been accused of being ‘completely out of touch’ with police forces across the country.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper made the claims speaking at the annual Police Federation conference in Bournemouth where she also said the Government was putting the fight against crime at risk with their ‘cack-handed’ approach to change and accused the Home Secretary Theresa May of being in ‘denial’ over the cuts.

Ms Cooper said: “I believe David Cameron and Theresa May have made the wrong decisions and the wrong judgements about the future of policing – and I fear it is communities across the country who will pay the price.”

She accused Mrs May of failing to ‘fight her corner’ at the Comprehensive Spending Review, which has resulted in the police being among the worst hit.

Ms Cooper also attacked the Government’s use of A19, saying it wouldn’t save money and would in fact end up costing the tax payer more, due to lost tax, national insurance and pension contributions.

Tuesday’s conference day began with the separate rank conferences with police and criminal justice minister Nick Herbert facing officers at both the constables’ and sergeants’ meetings. By the time he made it to the main conference for a panel session in the afternoon, he must have been in no doubt that officers agreed with Yvette Cooper’s sentiments, even if they didn’t necessarily back her political views. Time and time again, officers directed their questions at Mr Herbert and time and time again, he said he rejected their assertions that he was treating the police unfairly, that crime would rise and communities would suffer.

Wednesday brings the highlight of conference week – the Home Secretary Theresa May will follow in Mr Herbert’s footsteps and brave the wrath of rank and file officers. She can be in no doubt that they are prepared to fight their corner and will all they can to protect policing, not just their terms and conditions but also the service provided to their communities.

Conference week got underway with the women’s eve of conference meeting on the Monday afternoon.

A key theme of the meeting was that women officers were becoming an endangered species due to the changes proposed within the service, some of which affected women officers more than men and would therefore have an impact on recruitment and retention.

Annual updates covered body armour an uniform, the equal pay audit, pensions, diversity, the Neyroud review, the introduction of a pregnancy diary, employment tribunal statistics, fitness tests, the Olympics, Winsor equal pay and the menopause.

Emma Hawksworth of Russell Jones & Walker gave an equality update and equality and diversity adviser Jayne Monkhouse gave a presentation around the theme that women officers were becoming an endangered species explaining that some of the proposals meant that all people were being equally badly.

However, the stars of the eve of conference meeting, which was facilitated by TV presenter Kaye Adams, were Dagenham Ladies Gwen Davis and Vera Sime. They were among the women who went out on strike at the Dagenham Ford plant in 1968 claiming sex discrimination. The campaign was featured in the film Made In Dagenham.

Answering the questions put to them simply and directly, it seemed remarkable in these viral international campaigning days that they had little thought for the effect their actions would have for women all over the world. They were just interested in improving their own lot and ensuring they were paid the same as their male colleagues with Vera summing it up perfectly: “Men and women are equal; we’re different that’s all.”

Tuesday brings the usual morning separate meetings of the constables, sergeants and inspecting ranks before the main conference opens at 2pm with a welcome from national chairman Paul McKeever, an address from shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper and a question time session featuring police and criminal justice minister Nick Herbert, his Labour counterpart Vernon Coaker, Sir Denis O’Connor, chief inspector of HMIC, Derek Barnett, president of the Superintendents’ Association, and the national chairman.

A survey published today shows that police officers in Derbyshire believe the Government’s plan to cut 20 per cent of the police budget over the next four years and a reduction in police officer numbers will have a detrimental effect on crime levels and result in the public getting a poorer service.

A phenomenal 98 per cent of Derbyshire officers who responded to the online survey said that morale has fallen owing to the planned police budget cuts, the possibility of a reduction in police officer numbers, possible changes to their terms and conditions, and how this will all impact upon the service they are able to give to the public.

An incredible 85 per cent of police officers believe cutting police officer numbers in Derbyshire will have a detrimental effect on crime levels. As a result of the reduction in police officer numbers 72 per cent believe their workload has already increased or will increase in the future and an astonishing 87 per cent believe there will be a decline in service delivery in Derbyshire due to planned budget cuts.

Mark Pickard, Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation, warns: “The message from police officers in Derbyshire is loud and clear. They feel they are being hit from all sides by this Government which, in addition to attacking their terms and conditions, is imposing a 20 per cent cut on the service which will undoubtedly lead to increased levels of crime and a poorer service for the public in Derbyshire.

“The Federation is not opposed to change and accepts that policing must play its part in public sector cuts. However, if this Government truly believes in considered and informed change for the better then it should have the courage of its convictions and establish a Royal Commission on policing. Cuts of this magnitude are criminal and, despite the very best efforts of ranks and file police officers, will undoubtedly lead to a poorer service for the residents and businesses in Derbyshire. That is why it is imperative that those who live and work in Derbyshire make clear to our local politicians that a cut of this magnitude to the police budget needs to be urgently reconsidered by national Government before it is too late and we all suffer the unintended consequences of its actions.”

The survey results are in stark contrast to the views expressed by the Government that cuts to policing are achievable without crime rising or affecting service delivery to the public.

The 20 per cent budget cut to policing was announced by the Government at the same time that changes to pensions were announced by Lord Hutton and the Winsor review of police pay and conditions was published.

If implemented, the Winsor report recommendations will see the vast majority of police officers take a real time pay cut on top of increased workloads. Some could be up to £4,000 worse off and this takes no account of inflation and other external factors that may see costs rise in the coming months. Around 90 per cent of police officers in Derbyshire believe changes to their terms and conditions will have such a detrimental effect that some police officers will be compelled to leave the service owing to financial difficulties.

Representatives of Derbyshire Police Federation are joining colleagues from across England and Wales at this week’s national Police Federation conference in Bournemouth. The conference runs from Tuesday to Thursday and will include a keynote speech from Home Secretary Theresa May.

The silhouette of a man shouting at a young girl cowering in the corner is the latest hard-hitting image to be unveiled as part of the Police Federation’s national campaign to highlight the implications of police cuts.

At the top the advert reads ‘Consequences of 20% cuts to policing?’ At the bottom is the statement ‘Cuts are criminal.’ It also features the Police Federation logo and website address.

The first advert in the “Consequences...” campaign was published at the start of April. It showed a man holding a gun, pointing it out towards the reader.

Mark Pickard, Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation, says: “This image is very hard-hitting and thought-provoking. However, it is also what many officers and the most vulnerable in our communities are faced with on a daily basis.

“The Chief Constable of Derbyshire Constabulary is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society as are his officers. A couple of years ago new units were set up to help close highlighted gaps in how we deal with the perpetrators of crimes against these members of our society. These units could become increasingly stretched as the proposed cuts bite.

“The consequences of the Government’s proposed cuts could be vast and it is people like this vulnerable young girl who could suffer.

“In my mind there is no doubt about it. Fewer officers on the street will lead to an increase in crime and a greater fear in crime and that is just not something we are going to let happen. We will do all we can to fight the cuts and to maintain the standard of service the public expects and deserves from us.”

The advert can be seen nationally in the Metro newspaper and has also been highlighted to charities such as the NSPCC, Childline and Barnardos.

A judicial review challenging the Government’s decision to downgrade police pensions has been backed by the Police Federation.

The Staff Side of the Police Negotiating Board (PNB), supported by five other organisations representing public sector workers, launched a bid for a judicial review on Monday 18 April challenging a decision by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the Treasury to change the way public sector pensions are uprated.

It comes after the Government decided to uprate police pensions by Consumer Price Index (CPI) rather than Retail Price Index (RPI), at a time when the officers and police staff are already feeling the financial squeeze and impact of Government cuts.

The purpose of the annual pensions up-rating is to ensure that pension pots do not lose value as the general level of prices increases. Until now, pensions and some state benefits have been up-rated using the RPI. The Government’s decision to switch to the CPI, announced in the June 2010 Budget statement, effectively down-rates public sector pensions.

Speaking for the police parties involved, Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation, says: “In the space of a few weeks this Government has published reports that seek to take money and allowances from police officers as well as the prospect of increased contributions and having to work longer to qualify for a police pension. On top of that they are effectively picking the pockets of police officers through this change. We will challenge this robustly and through application for judicial review will seek to expose the Government’s underhand approach and right this wrong.”

The Police Federation says the difference and impact on pensions is considerable. An up-rating of only 3.1 per cent using the CPI, compared to a potential rise of 4.6 per cent according to the RPI – and the CPI is predicted to lag some 0.8 per cent to 1.5 per cent behind the RPI for the next five years to 2016, having a cumulative downward impact on public sector pensions.

The challenge is that CPI involves measuring how consumers react to price rises (by buying cheaper goods in place of more expensive ones), while the statutory test focuses only on price rises themselves.

This action has been led by the Police Federation with calls for the Judicial Review being brought by the Staff Side of PNB, joined by NARPO, GMB, FDA, Prospect and the Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance.

If successful, the claim will impact on all public sector workers and pensioners (not only those from the civil service and police, but also the armed forces, the NHS and local government), as well as a number of state benefits.

The Police Federation’s general secretary, Ian Rennie, has said he feels ‘let down’ by Tom Winsor.

Ian, who is also Staff Side secretary of the Police Negotiating Board (PNB), made the remark at a recent meeting of PNB.

He said: “If only Tom Winsor had included within his report what he said to me on two occasions, ‘if there was ever a case for a Royal Commission in policing it’s now.’

“I personally feel let down by him simply because at our first meeting in October last year I actually believed him when he told me that everything was on the record. This is clearly not the case.”

Ian went on to say he believes the recommendations made in the Winsor review are not about the Government making savings, but are simply to reduce police officers’ pay.

“These recommendations amount to the removal of £485 million from police pay by 2013-14, which according to Winsor are savings he was required to make for the Treasury, although we now understand that assurances have been given by Government that this money will be retained in policing,” he said.

“So the reality is that it’s not about making savings towards this Government’s 20 per cent cut to the police budget over the next four years, it’s simply about reducing police officers’ pay.”

During the speech, he slammed claims from the Official Side secretary that the Winsor recommendations were ‘based on rigorous analysis, widespread engagement and a clear understanding of the challenges facing the police service’, saying: “I must have read a different report because while he may have engaged widely he has failed to properly understand policing in the modern world and we are disappointed in the extreme with his failure to evidence many of his recommendations.

“… Staff Side is absolutely clear that any changes to the existing, negotiated package of police pay and conditions of service must be based on sound evidence.”

He said despite the desire of the Official Side to negotiate Winsor as an entire package, Staff Side could not agree to this and that he was disappointed Winsor’s recommendations include proposals on which they have not had an opportunity to give their views.

Ian continued: “There are many elements of this package which would cause considerable financial hardship to many of our members, and there are some recommendations which would fundamentally weaken the position of police officers in relation to their work life balance. Sadly, Winsor has clearly failed to recognise that unlike other workers there is a lack of personal choice for police officers who must obey lawful orders, including being directed by senior officers as to what duty they perform, when they perform it and where they perform it.

“We will, though, approach these negotiations in a constructive manner. Where we can, we will seek to ensure that positive changes for police officers are balanced against those which produce outcomes desired by the Official Side.”

He also spoke about how he was concerned at the pace at which the policing agenda is moving.

“We are where we are today because of history. We have evolved as a police service because of the expectations and service demands rightly placed upon us by the public,” he said.

“These recommendations must be assessed in terms of the calibre of people we recruit into the police service and the impact that it will have upon the communities we serve if we are no longer able to attract and retain them.”

The Police Federation has started a hard-hitting national advertising campaign as it fights the Government's cuts and the Winsor recommendations.

It will run a series of posters and adverts entitled "'Consequences...".

The first advert image is of a man holding a gun, pointing it out towards the reader. At the top it reads 'Consequences of 20% cuts to policing?'. At the bottom left is the statement 'Cuts are criminal' and in the bottom right, the Police Federation logo and web address.

The Federation says it is inevitable that having less police officers will lead to an increase in crime and greater fear of crime. The campaign has focussed on the Metro series of newspapers in the first instance to achieve maximum impact at minimal cost.

The president of ACPO has written to the Police Federation to confirm that the Chief Constables’ Council (CCC) supports calls for any savings made through the Winsor review to go back into policing.

Sir Hugh Orde wrote to the chairman of the Police Federation England and Wales (PFEW),Paul McKeever, to outline the views of the CCC.

The letter followed on from a meeting of the council which was held on April 1.

In his letter Sir Hugh states: “Chief Constables’ Council was unanimous in welcoming the Government’s commitment to recycle any savings delivered through the Winsor proposals within the policing budget.

“Notwithstanding the various submissions made to his review, Tom Winsor opted not to stipulate how savings within the police budget should be recycled. Mindful of the differing financial picture in each force, the view of council was that chief constables should not bind themselves to an ACPO position, but accept this element of local flexibility to deploy resources in the best interests of the police service and the public we serve. Since over 80 per cent of force budgets are spent on staffing, it is realistic to suppose that any savings will be used by forces to moderate the impact of planned staff reductions.”

The news comes after the Police Federation wrote to ACPO in March asking that any savings from the Winsor recommendations should be retained and redistributed within police pay.

He continues: “It (council) also welcomed Tom Winsor’s attempt to recognise the crucial role played by those on the front-line of service provision and to reward the efforts of officers and staff to develop themselves professionally. Although there clearly remain many issues to be resolved around these payments we view them as a positive step towards a police service that rewards contribution and professionalism rather than purely length of service.”

Sir Hugh also said ACPO would co-operate closely with the Police Federation and its members at both national and local level, as they seek to maintain a high quality public service and support staff through the turbulent financial times.

Police forces will face a “big challenge” to deliver cost savings without affecting front-line services, according to Sir Denis O’Connor, chief inspector of constabulary.

Crucially, in his HMIC report, Sir Denis gives a definition, for the first time of what constitutes front-line policing.

“The Government has been talking about protecting the front-line but no-one seems very clear on what the front-line is. Surely it would have made more sense to have defined the front-line before drawing up plans to cut costs and yet protect the front-line. It seems a very odd way of doing things,” explains Mark Pickard, Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation.

“Now Sir Denis has defined the front-line as being made up of officers who are in everyday contact with the public and who directly intervene to keep people safe and enforce the law. He also says that two thirds of police force staff are in these roles. So now it would appear that HMIC is saying what we as a Federation have said from the outset – you cannot deliver these kinds of savings without affecting front-line policing and that means our service to the public will suffer.”

The report revealed that 68 per cent of police force staff were in front-line roles though not all were visible.

The police service is losing 20 per cent of its central funding over the four next years with the Government claiming this is possible through better use of procurement, cuts to middle office and backroom roles and greater productivity on the front-line.

But Sir Denis said: “In a nutshell it looks difficult for the front-line to remain in its current form in a number of forces.”

And he added that middle and back office roles were not just disposable assets that you could thrown away since losing some of those posts would have consequences for those in front-line posts.

The report’s Executive Summary explains that forces must organise their resources so that the highest possible proportion of officers and other police staff are available to meet the needs of the public. It adds that at no time in the past has this been more important than now: in this age of

austerity, the police will have to make hard choices about how they use their resources.

HMIC therefore opens the books of policing, enabling both the police and the public to see how resource choices differ from force to force:

Section 1, ‘The police workforce and the “front-line”’, identifies and categorises the different police roles, quantifies each category and examines

which roles might comprise the front line.

Section 2, ‘Where are the police?’, outlines the proportion of police officers and police and community support officers (PCSOs) who are visible and

available to the public at key times of the day.

Section 3, ‘Demands on the police’, uses findings from three new case studies to illustrate the range of demands on the police, and the variety of

resources needed to meet these demands.

To view the report follow this link: www.hmic.gov.uk

The Home Secretary is submitting the Winsor Report in its entirety to the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) and Police Arbitration Tribunal, with a direction that it be dealt with as a matter of urgency.

During a meeting with Theresa May yesterday the Police Federation’s chairman, Paul McKeever, and general secretary, Ian Rennie, were told that Theresa May would submit a Ministerial Statement to Parliament today to inform MPs of her decision.

“The full Winsor report and all its recommendations are being sent to PNB so that they can be considered in their entirety,” says Ian Godfrey, Secretary of Derbyshire Police Federation.

The Federation’s Joint Central Committee will meet later today to discuss the move.

The Federation will also be attending a number of meetings of the Staff Side of PNB arranged to consider its position on Winsor’s proposals during future negotiations with the Staff Side, which includes Government representatives.

The next meeting of PNB is planned for 14 April.

Derbyshire Police Federation is supporting a national call for any savings made through the Winsor report to be redistributed through police pay.

The chairman of the Police Federation England and Wales, Paul McKeever, has written to the president of ACPO asking for the £485 million which would be removed from the police pay bill by 2013 - 14 to be ploughed back in to officers’ pay.

In his letter to ACPO president Sir Hugh Orde OBE QPM, Paul says: “I am sure you will understand that while we may disagree about some elements of police pay, at this time of challenging economic circumstances for all police officers, the service should come together to protect and preserve the current value of the police pay pot.

“To this end, I would like you, as president of ACPO, to reiterate publicly for the benefit of my members, your position that any savings from the Winsor

recommendations should be retained and redistributed within police pay.”

According to the Winsor report, savings of £1 billion would be made by removing Competency-Related Threshold Payments (CRTPs) and Special Priority Payments (SPPs), changing the current overtime and held in reserve/mutual aid provisions and adding a two-year freeze to the incremental progressions for officers who have not reached the top of their payscale.

Recommendations in the report for a new Expertise and Professional Accreditation Allowance (EPAA) and for an unsocial hours enhancement would put an estimated £499 million back into police pay in the three years to 2013 - 14 and, the on-call allowance and the increase in police maternity pay would add another £58 million to police pay over this period.

However, this would lead to a removal of £485 million from the police pay bill.

Mark Pickard, chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation, said: “It is only right and fair that any money removed from the police pay pot should be ploughed back in. Officers are currently being hit hard in the pocket and many could find themselves in times of financial hardship.

“I appreciate in the current economic climate savings do have to be made, however, with the potential increase in pension contributions, many officers facing a pay freeze and with the cuts proposed in the Winsor report I feel officers are being unfairly targeted.”

The coalition's plans to take £500 million out of police pay budgets breaks all the rules of trust and fairness between the Government and the police service, according to the Police Federation and the Superintendents' Association. It also seeks to overturn agreements lawfully and legitimately entered in to through established principles of negotiation and arbitration, they say.

"We recognise that it is over 30 years since the last full review of police officers' pay and conditions. The Edmund Davies Review heralded a long period of stability in policing where officers had confidence and trust in the arrangements to determine police pay. Police officers could go about the challenging and often dangerous business of protecting and serving the public confident that their contribution was valued and respected by government," say Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation, and Derek Barnett, president of the Superintendents' Association, in a joint statement in response to the Winsor review. "That stability, confidence and trust, hard earned by a workforce that does not have industrial rights like others in the public and private sector, is now at risk.

"We fully understand the fiscal difficulties this Government faces and accept that the police service should take a fair share of the savings expected right across the public sector. "However, no other group of public servants have been singled out and subjected to an additional review of pay and conditions that, if fully implemented, will see almost £500 million taken out of the pay packets of police officers."

The Police Federation and Police Superintendents' Association represent the interests of police officers from the rank of constable to chief superintendent throughout England and Wales. They joined forces to criticise recommendations made by the former Rail Regulator Tom Winsor's after this review of police pay and conditions and have pledged to approach negotiations with the Government in good faith, constructively and fairly. "Our goal is to secure a future that delivers excellent policing for the public, that recognises the value and contribution of police officers in fighting crime and protecting the public, and acknowledges the unique qualities of commitment, professionalism and courage necessary to do our job," they say. "Above all we look to the future where we are able to recruit and retain the best people to policing; a role we believe to be crucial in protecting the citizens of our nation, preserving the Queen's peace and ensuring our democratic freedoms. "We are rightly proud of the reputation and standing of the British police service the world over and together we will do all we can to preserve all that is good about it."

Officers are being encouraged to take part in the Police Federation’s Survey of Members 2011.

The survey was commissioned by the Futures Group as a follow up to the IPSOS Mori survey of the public on how they perceived the proposed 20 per cent cuts to policing.

“It is our hope with this member survey to gauge how our members feel about the cuts and how the proposed changes to terms and conditions may affect them,” explains Simon Reed, vice chairman of the Police Federation.

“Please encourage as many members as possible to take part from England and Wales so that when we take our campaign forward we are representative of our members views as far as is possible.

“Please note this is an external survey hosted by Questback – members can do this anonymously, though will be asked to fill in mandatory questions such as rank and force. This is so that we can cross-tabulate the answers and analyse the data. If a member chooses anonymity we will not be able to identify them but we will know which rank and force they are from.”

Simon has also revealed that the Federation has received emails from hundreds of members seeking the right to industrial action and asking what protest methods are being planned.

“We are considering a further survey by this method to capture views of members regarding this and to gauge the type of support particular actions would receive,” he explained.

The survey will run from March 15 and closes on April 3.

If you have not received the link to the survey and the password, contact the Federation office.

Just two days’ after the release of the Winsor report, Lord Hutton’s long-awaited review of pensions was published.

The review called for millions of public sector workers – including the police – to work longer for lower pensions prompting an angry response from leaders of unions such as UNISON.

The Police Federation added its voice to those angered by Hutton’s recommendations.

“This is a further kick in the teeth for police officers. In a matter of weeks we have been told we'll face a two-year pay freeze, the Winsor report which may see officers losing thousands of pounds per annum and now this,” explains Simon Reed, vice chairman of the national Federation.

“Does this Government really want a Dad’s Army of policing? While experience counts, the dangers for the public of sending in 60-year old police officers to deal with public order situations and Friday night drunken brawls seems obvious.

“We have yet to meet with the Home Office to discuss the specifics of what officers will be expected to pay, but let’s not forget we already had changes to the police pension scheme in 2006. To that end, officers are already expected to work longer and receive less.”

Lord Hutton has argued that his recommendations would lead to “comprehensive reform” which would make the pension schemes “sustainable and affordable in the future” under the pressure of rising life expectancy.

“These proposals aim to strike a balanced deal between public service workers and the taxpayer,” he says.

“They will ensure that public service workers continue to have access to good pensions while taxpayers benefit from greater control over their costs.”

Lord Hutton’s 200-page report makes 27 recommendations that will impact on all public sector pension schemes including the Police Pension Schemes. His recommendations are part of a series of changes being proposed for public service pensions.

The Government will now consider the report. In its Comprehensive Spending Review last October, the Government proposed an average three per cent increase in member contributions to be phased in from April 2012.

Any changes to the police pension schemes will be considered by the Police Negotiating Board (PNB), which is made up of representatives of the Government as the Official Side and the Police Federation and other police representative bodies as the Staff Side.

At the PNB meeting on Thursday March 10 representatives of the Home Office said the Government will now decide how the individual recommendations within the report should be progressed in respect of all the public sector pension schemes.

The Federation expects to be informed in time for the next meeting of the Staff Side on April 13 so it can be discussed at the PNB meeting the following day.

“It would be inappropriate to speculate on how individual recommendations contained within the Hutton report may impact upon the current police pension schemes until we know exactly what changes are being proposed,” says Ian Rennie, general secretary of the Police Federation.

“Discussion also took place on the proposed increase to pension contribution rates. We were informed that formal consultation will commence in June 2011 for the Government's phased introduction of any increase from April 2012.

“Please be assured that we will do everything within our means to ensure that the value of police officers' pensions continues to reflect the difficult and demanding role that police officers perform on behalf of the public. Work is currently ongoing to ensure that we are prepared for that challenge.”

The Federation will issue updates as further information becomes available.

• Lord Hutton is a former Labour pensions minister and was asked by the coalition Government to review public service pensions shortly after last year’s general election.

To view the report go to:

www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/indreview_johnhutton_pensions.htm

The Home Secretary’s announcement on cuts to police pay undermines the Winsor review, the independent study of pay and conditions due to publish its first report on Monday (March 7), according to the Police Federation.

And, Mark Pickard, chairman of the Derbyshire Federation, says Theresa May has made a mockery of the independent report and the engagement with police stakeholders.

“Instead of waiting for the Winsor Report to be published next week the Home Secretary has showed her hand and wants to press ahead with her own agenda; cutting the pay and terms and conditions of police officers as well as cutting police numbers,” says Mark.

“She has made police officers across the country feel completely undervalued. We have lost trust in this Government’s commitment to fair play.

“It has taken 40 years to build fair and reasonable terms and conditions for police officers that encourage recruitment and helps retain those with the most experience. This has resulted in record numbers of police officers, but this Government seems intent on turning the clock back four decades in four years.”

But Mark is particularly critical of the way in which Mrs May appeared to acknowledge the special role of police officers when she referred to their bravery in her speech.

She said: “But I want to first recognise just what a tremendous job individual police officers do day in, day out. Arresting violent offenders, putting themselves in harm’s way, going unarmed into dangerous situations – these are the sort of things that officers know could happen to them any time they put on the uniform.”

Derbyshire has had officers decline to be put forward for the national Police Bravery Award, saying that they joined the Force to serve and protect people and that it’s their job, it’s what they paid for and that they serve the public.

“I find it insulting that Theresa May chooses to repay officers who do these brave things on a daily basis, risking life and limb by cutting their wages,” says Mark.

The Home Secretary argued in her speech in Westminster on March 2 that police pay cuts are essential to minimise job losses across forces in England and Wales.

Threequarters of the budget is used up by pay and Mrs May says that has to end. She wants pay to be frozen for two years, along with that of other public sector workers.

The Government aims to cut its funding for the police by 20 per cent by 2015 and Mrs May said savings could be made by cutting bureaucracy and improving the procurement of equipment and services.

“There’s no question that pay restraint and pay reform must form part of the package. I want to protect police jobs and keep officers on the street, and we can only do that if we reform pay and conditions for all officers,” she said.

A plea by the Chief Constable for a 3.44 per cent increase in council tax to raise an extra £500,000 for the Force was rejected by the Police Authority at its budget setting meeting yesterday.

The increase would have cost 1p extra per day for the average council tax payer.

“The extra money would have been used to enable a small level of recruitment and help protect resources against risk,” says Mark Pickard, Chairman of Derbyshire Police Federation,  “We felt this could well have helped to kick start a small amount of movement of officers through the ranks and bring in a level of fresh blood and thinking to the Force.

“The Chief Constable gave a strong reasoned argument in favour of his option.”

However, the Police Authority voted against the Chief’s proposal and instead voted for a freeze.

Tom Winsor has been given an extra week to report back on his initial findings in his Independent Review of Police Officers and Staff Remuneration and Conditions.

The news comes just days after it came to light that the Home Secretary would receive the report first on 28 February, despite the Federation believing that it would be made public on that date.

The report will now be widely available on 7 March.

“We trust that the evidence we have given in our two thoroughly-researched, comprehensive submissions will have led Mr Winsor to conclusions which will safeguard the future of the police service with a well-motivated force of warranted officers secure in their terms and conditions, says Ian Rennie, general secretary of the Police Federation.

“We are confident that Mr Winsor fully understands the nature of our concerns and of the evidence we have presented to him. We trust that his independent report will similarly make evidenced recommendations that we can have confidence in for the benefit of policing.

The Federation has met with Mr Winsor and his team on several occasions over the course of this review and the former rail regulator also held bilateral talks with the national chairman, Paul McKeever, and the general secretary.

Mr Winsor is due to make a second report on his findings in June.

For more information on the Federation’s submissions to the review, please visit www.polfed.org

Tom Winsor’s independent review of police pay and conditions of service will not be made public until after it has been seen by the Home Secretary.

Initially, the review’s initial findings were expected to be made public on 28 February but instead the report will only be made available to the Home Secretary Theresa May on that date.

“This was supposed to be a totally independent review and we are now concerned that because it will be seen by the Home Secretary before it is made public it will be tainted,” says Ian Godfrey, Secretary of Derbyshire Police Federation.

He continued: “I had always been led to believe the first report would be published and made available to us on 28 February and I am extremely disappointed this is now not the case.

“It will be interesting to see if ACPO now meets with the Home Secretary before the report goes public. We will be keeping a close eye on the developments and will members informed.”

The Government says the review, heralded as the most comprehensive for 30 years, will

• ensure that pay and conditions maximise officer and staff deployment to front-line roles where their powers and skills are required
  
• provide pay and conditions that are fair and reasonable for taxpayers, police officers and staff
• enable modern management in line with practices elsewhere in the public sector and the wider economy.
  

Former rail regulator Mr Winsor heads the review, supported by professional advice from the former West Midlands Chief Constable Sir Edward Crew and leading labour market economist Professor Richard Disney.

The review will report to the Home Secretary in two parts: first on short term improvements to the service and again in June 2011 on longer-term reform.

At the launch of the review in October 2010, Mr Winsor said he was looking forward to working alongside police officers and their representatives, as they prepared the police service for the challenges ahead.

“I have always had immense respect for police officers and staff, and the vital work they do. Every day those on the front-line can face difficult and dangerous situations. Throughout this review I shall be guided by the overriding principle of fairness – fairness to individual police officers and staff, and fairness to the taxpayer.”

Once the recommendations are published, the Federation will scrutinise them fully to establish their impact upon the Federated ranks. The Federation believes that any proposed changes will only be implemented if agreed by the Police Negotiating Board.

Officers are being urged to write to their local MP over concerns for the future of their pensions.

It comes after Chancellor George Osborne asked Lord Hutton to carry out an independent review into a range of public sector pensions including the police pension.

The final report is due before the 2011 budget in March and could propose a rise in contribution rates from officers to help make short term savings.

The issue has recently been highlighted by Police Review magazine, which has prepared a letter for officers to print off and send to their local MP.

It urges politicians to make representations to both the Home Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on behalf of their police officer constituents, and not to accept the proposal.

No other public servant contributes as much as police officers to their pensions. Officers in the old scheme contribute 11 per cent of their pensionable pay while those in the new scheme contribute 9.5 per cent. This is in comparison to 8.5 per cent by firefighters, 6.4 per cent by teachers and 3.5 per cent by civil servants.

The letter states the police pension scheme is designed to recognise the 'arduous and hazardous conditions' of police work and that 'in fairness to officers, police pensions should be made exempt from an increase in employee contributions, in light of the already high level of contributions'.

However, as a result of increased media attention on public sector pensions in the current economic climate, fears are increasing that there will be an 'unjustifiable and unfair attack on the police pension scheme'.

Click here to see the letter.