Compulsory Severance Update
The Police Federation have just had a call from the NPPC who debated the issue of compulsory severance today, rather than tomorrow, and Chief Constables have decided not to revisit the option of compulsory severance for police officers for the time being.
The comment from NPCC is here:
National Police Chiefs' Council Chair, Chief Constable Sara Thornton, said:
"Chief constables carefully considered the issue of compulsory severance for police officers in light of the likelihood of further significant cuts to police budgets. Chief constables' preferred approach is to continue to modernise terms and conditions of both officers and staff. On the information known at this stage, chief constables are not seeking to revisit the Police Arbitration Tribunal decision on compulsory severance from 2014. This position might need to be reviewed in response to the police settlement in the spending review."
Steve White, chairman of the Federation, welcomed the news but with caution. He said: "I am pleased to hear that the NPCC has listened to our concerns but the police service is by no means out of the woods yet. A proper debate around police force funding and the structures of forces still needs to be had and we will ensure that the Police Federation is at the heart of those debates and continue to apply pressure so that this arbitrary measure that would have fundamentally changed the office of constable should never see the light of day."