The Police Service for Northern Ireland Submission to the Police Remuneration Review Body for Federated and Superintending Ranks 2017/18

Transcription

1 The Police Service for Northern Ireland Submission to the Police Remuneration Review Body for Federated and Superintending Ranks 2017/18 December

2 Contents Page Executive Summary 3 Chapter 1 Introduction Background Information Strategy of the PSNI including Policing Plan Programme for Government 9 Chapter 2 - Government Pay Policy and PSNI s Pay Proposals Overview of the Northern Ireland Executive s Pay Policy Pay Proposals and Recommendations for 2017/ Affordability Police Allowances Parity with England and Wales Work of Other Bodies Police Pensions 23 Chapter 3 Economy and Earnings Legislative Obligations Northern Ireland Economy Labour Market Earnings 28 Chapter 4 The Policing Environment and Security Situation The Security Situation The Policing Environment Mutual Aid Modified Rest Days 36 Chapter 5 The PSNI Police Officer Workforce Police Officer Numbers Recruitment Background Recruitment Assessment of Need Recruitment Campaigns Police Promotion Process Wastage Exit Interviews Absence Management 48 Chapter 6 Appendices A-E

3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This is the PSNI s third report to the independent Review Body on the remuneration of Police Officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) up to and including the rank of Chief Superintendent. This submission is set in the context of increasing public expectation with regards to service delivery centering on providing the right service at the right time and in the right location; all of which have to be delivered against a reduced budget and a potential reduction in resources. Part of the operational challenge in meeting these expectations will be to continue to provide the appropriate services at a time when the threat level from dissident terrorists is SEVERE and when there are significant fiscal pressures on the PSNI budget. The impact of reductions to non-staff budgets has been far reaching and has affected not just service delivery in the PSNI but also the wider justice family and beyond. In addition, further pressures have been emerging, particularly in the area of legacy. The Deputy Chief Constable Drew Harris made mention of the challenges ahead in his speech during the 15 th Anniversary Conference in Ulster University stating, The world is changing in a very rapid way. The change is happening and felt at a global, national and local level. Our economic future is tentative and dependent on events elsewhere; our communities are shifting and changing but community division remains an issue; emerging technologies pose wonderful opportunities as well as expose significant risks. He went on to say that, There is no doubt that the Patten blueprint has stood the test of time and that its core elements are as relevant for policing today as they were fifteen years ago. However, Patten was written at a moment in time. It could not forecast how fast or slow the peace process would progress. Nor could it foresee the financial challenges that are dominating the policing and public service agenda today. This report details the PSNI s pay proposals to the Minister of Justice for consideration by the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) including information on the Northern Ireland Executive Pay Policy, recruitment and retention issues, pay progression, affordability, morale, the modernisation of terms and conditions and a detailed account of the policing and security context in which officers operate. In this pay submission, the PRRB is asked to consider the Service Executive Team s recommendations for 2017/18 which are as follows: 3

4 a 1% uplift to all pay points; incremental pay progression for Federated and Superintending ranks; retention of Northern Ireland Transitional Allowance with an increase of 1%; and retention of the Dog Handler s Allowance with an increase of 1%. The Review Body is also asked to consider the PSNI s plans for a review of Competence Related Threshold Payments (CRTP). In terms of this pay submission, it is also worth noting that recent research has reported that salary and benefits and career progression are vitally important factors taken into consideration when contemplating a career in the PSNI. These are most important for those who are from a Catholic community background, females, those from C2DE socio-economic groups and those distinguishing themselves as Irish/Northern Irish. Particular reference was made in the survey to the reduction in salary from 2013/2014 and that this reduction is of greater importance to Roman Catholics and females. It has also been identified that the current salary does not compare favourably to other public service careers, with the starting salary below that of the Fire Service and Ambulance Service. 4

5 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Information Policing in a peace building society in Northern Ireland remains complex due to the societal, political and security issues. The demands on policing in Northern Ireland are changing and are more wide-ranging than those experienced by most forces in England and Wales. Our core purpose of Keeping People Safe by Policing with the Community will not change but the reality is that the PSNI is becoming a smaller organisation, losing more people each year than we can afford to replace. As we get smaller, the demands to which we are expected to respond are increasing in scale and complexity. PSNI Officers and staff continue to deliver a policing service while a small, but dangerous, number of individuals and groups are actively planning attacks on police. They pose a threat not only to police, prison officers and other members of the security services but also to any members of the community who may get in the way of their plans. The PSNI is unable to deliver effective policing without the trust and consent of the community. The groups who advocate the use of violence look for perceived failures in policing in order to garner community support. There is also a significant demand on current resources to investigate historic incidents and support inquests into deaths which occurred during the Troubles. The PSNI s strategic threat assessment, based on the MoRiLE2 model, demonstrates our understanding of the continuing severe threat from dissident terrorists, and high threat areas such as organised crime, child sexual exploitation, domestic abuse and cyber-crime. The threat assessment also has a calendar of parades, events and centenary commemorations which enables the Service to plan for the assessment and resourcing of the policing operation for Keeping People Safe. Deputy Chief Constable Drew Harris commented on the demands in policing in his speech during the 15 th Anniversary Conference in Ulster University on 9 November 2016 stating, While traditional crimes are showing some reductions, new crimes including cyber enabled crime, human trafficking and increased offending against the vulnerable are presenting new challenges. Police are also now dealing with a huge range of non-crime incidents which are not captured in police recorded crime. Issues relating to public safety and welfare take up huge amounts of our time and resources and increasing numbers of incidents involving people with mental health issues are placing increasing demands and risks on policing. In 5

6 the last week the PSNI had over calls for service. Only 16% of these calls were related to crime. 15% were related to antisocial behaviour while 21% were related to public safety and welfare issues. The PSNI receives 500,000 calls for service each year, which it manages through three Contact Management Centres. Its daily management meetings at District, Area and Service levels ensure that resources are focused on those incidents which present the greatest threat, harm and risk to communities. This includes the policing response to tensions between communities, serious disorder and provision of security for officers conducting routine enquiries who are at risk from dissident terrorists. Demands such as these can arise without warning and the operational and community reassurance requirements are often resource intensive and limit the ability to engage effectively with some young and vulnerable people in certain communities. The Service has focused its dedicated neighbourhood resources in these areas and engagement is improving. One example of this is a Secondary school, where for the first time in 2016 Neighbourhood Policing Team officers were permitted to enter the school in police uniform. Policing arrangements in Northern Ireland are different to that available to police services in England and Wales. In Northern Ireland there is a single police service which is centrally funded by the UK Government. The PSNI is required to bid for funding from the UK Treasury through the Northern Ireland Policing Board. The PSNI cannot raise funds through local taxation and cannot borrow funds or hold strategic reserves but it is given an additional grant for security funding. In England there are 39 geographic police forces. Each one receives most of its funding in the form of a Central Government grant. The largest share is allocated through the Police Grant Report and accounts for almost two-thirds of police funding in England. There are also a smaller number of special and specific grants which are ring-fenced for national policing priorities, such as counter-terrorism policing. Each force can also raise funds through council tax bills. Outside London this is in the form of a precept levied on residential council tax bills. It is the elected Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) in each police force area that determines the level of the police precept. The two London forces receive additional funding (the National and International Capital City Grant) to reflect the extra burden placed on resources to police the capital. In Wales, part of police funding is devolved. Most funding for the four forces in Wales comes 6

7 from the Home Office via the Police Grant Report in the same way as English forces. The four Welsh PCCs also set a precept to be added to council tax bills. A greater proportion of police funding comes from council tax than in England, 37% compared with an average of 24% in England. Police are allowed to charge third parties for performing non-statutory functions, such as policing sports events. These are known as special police services. Police forces are prevented from making a profit on special police services and for some types of event are prevented from recouping 100% of costs. The level of income for the PSNI from special police services was 0.5 million in 2015/16, representing less than 0.07% of total resource expenditure. 1.2 Strategy of the PSNI including Policing Plan The Northern Ireland Policing Board (NIPB) is responsible for issuing a Policing Plan each year. When agreeing the Plan, the Board and the PSNI take account of a wide range of information when deciding the policing priorities such as: Feedback from the public consultation exercise which ascertained the community s views on priorities for policing; Reviewing the PSNI performance (including comparisons with similar police forces in Great Britain and looking at historical crime trends); Environmental scanning and strategic assessments by both the Board and the PSNI; Northern Ireland Audit Office recommendations; and Ensuring consistency with wider objectives and strategies such as the Comprehensive Spending Review, the Minister of Justice s Long Term Objectives for Policing and the Programme for Government. The Policing Plan, attached at Appendix A, was developed in partnership with the PSNI and key stakeholders. It takes into account the challenges over the next four years from , which the PSNI will face in a time of reducing budgets and provides a focus on areas which will assist in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the service delivered to our communities. The Plan focuses on the following five key overarching themes: Communication and Engagement, Protection of People and Communities, Reduction in Offending, More Efficient and Effective Delivery of Justice and More Efficient and Effective Policing. 7

8 Whilst it is a challenging Plan, the PSNI and the Board believe it to be achievable. It comprises of 12 Strategic Outcomes with high level associated performance measures attached to these Outcomes, including: Ensuring the PSNI engages with communities to improve understanding of the impact of policing decisions and involves communities wherever possible in those decisions; Increasing trust and confidence in policing; Reducing harm caused by crime and anti-social behaviour with a focus on protecting the most vulnerable; Protecting and supporting victims; Keeping people safe on the roads; Working in partnership to identify and intervene with priority offenders; Working in partnership to address serious and organised crime; Working in partnership to address paramilitary activity; Delivering significant improvement in the quality of files and disclosure to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS); Achieving an effective partnership with the PPS and other key partners in the Criminal Justice System in order to deliver an effective professional service which strives for positive outcomes for victims; Providing an efficient, effective police service focused on protecting frontline services and continually improving and responding to need; Demonstrating the best use of resources for the PSNI. These outcomes are underpinned by a series of lower level quantitative and qualitative measures. The Plan also sets out the continuous improvement arrangements for the PSNI in the year ahead. Over the coming year the Board will oversee and scrutinise the PSNI performance through a monitoring framework and will report on performance across all aspects of the Plan to ensure the community receives the professional, accountable policing service which it rightly expects. From the PSNI s perspective, accountability involves creating a real partnership between the police and the community, in which policing reflects and responds to the community s needs. Through the Board and the local Police and Community Safety Partnerships, the community 8

9 has an opportunity to shape policing priorities. Today, trust and confidence in the PSNI are at their highest levels since records began. Since its inception, the PSNI has been committed to Policing with the Community as the ethos through which our police service is delivered. While significant progress has been made, there is still some way to travel on this journey. During a recent operation against street level drug dealing, community information helped take 2.7 million worth of drugs off the streets in just three weeks. The PSNI needs the support and leadership of our political and civic leaders to make progress on building trust and confidence with all parts of the community so that the focus is on Keeping People Safe. Whilst the PSNI seeks to protect life, police actions (and at times inactions) can have a negative impact on community trust in policing. The use of police powers such as stop and search, vehicle check points and house searches can cause unease, anger and distrust in the community. Police accountability and the preservation of human rights are all the more important in such challenging circumstances. 1.3 Programme for Government The draft Programme for Government sets out the priorities that the Northern Ireland Executive will pursue in the current Assembly mandate and the most significant actions that the Executive will take to address them. Consultation on the draft Programme opened on 28 October 2016 and is due to close on 23 December It is a Programme for Government in which many more people and groups can play a part. The outcomes based approach creates an opportunity for collaborative working between organisations and groups in the public, voluntary and private sectors. Individuals and communities can also play an active part. The Deputy Chief Constable Drew Harris said in his speech of 9 November 2016 that, The PSNI have welcomed the Programme for Government. It has set a clear direction for travel that is anchored in collaborative working right across public services. The overarching purpose of the Programme for Government Outcomes Framework is improving wellbeing for all by tackling disadvantage and driving economic growth. The Programme offers a response to a call for a whole of Government approach, focusing on 9

10 delivering improvements to multiple aspects of people s lives and comprises 14 outcomes including: A strong, competitive regionally balanced economy; A more equal society with opportunities open to everyone whatever their identity. The foundations for progress in this area are provided by measures, including legal protections, to end discrimination and to make sure people are safe from violence and other attacks motivated by their identity. Progress on that will contribute to the achievement of reducing crime; An innovative, creative, society where people can fulfil their potential; More people working in better jobs to improve the regional balance of economic prosperity through increased employment; A safe community where we respect the law, and each other. The Programme recognises that organised crime groups are involved in a wide range of activities such as drug trafficking and supply, internet fraud and cybercrime, counterfeiting, fuel smuggling, waste crime and human trafficking or modern slavery. An added dimension in Northern Ireland is that organised crime groups can have paramilitary connections. An effective operational response to crime which takes account of the needs of victims and witnesses is essential, too. There are indications that gaps in the current provision of services to support vulnerable families may be a contributing factor to future offending behaviour; Care for others and help for those in need; A shared society that respects diversity through leading by example by challenging discrimination and prejudice and encouraging others to do the same; A confident, welcoming, outward-looking society; and High quality public services through increasing the effectiveness of the justice system and reducing offending. Safety is an indispensable element of well-being that provides the foundation for wider improvements in quality of life. Protecting citizens is central to the role of Government and to the PSNI in Keeping People Safe. By tackling crime and addressing its causative factors through prevention and detection, is therefore a key priority. The graph below in Figure 1 charts the latest findings from the 2014/15 Northern Ireland Crime Survey (NICS), which estimates that 8.8% of all households and their adult occupants were victims of at least one NICS crime during the 12 months prior to interview. This represents the lowest NICS victimisation prevalence rate since the measure was first reported in 1998 (23%). 10

11 Figure 1 - Prevalence rate (% the population who were victims of any NI Crime Survey Crime) of recorded crime excluding fraud and antisocial behaviour incidents 11

12 CHAPTER 2: GOVERNMENT PAY POLICY AND PSNI S PAY PROPOSALS 2.1 Overview of the Northern Ireland Executive s Pay Policy The Northern Ireland Executive s control of public sector pay is based on the principle that this sector should offer a pay and reward package that allows it to recruit, retain and motivate suitable staff. Public sector pay also reflects the circumstances specific to the local labour market. Since the 2004 pay round, Her Majesty s Treasury has imposed an Increase for Staff in Post (formerly known as earnings growth ) limit that public bodies must not breach, unless there are very sound reasons to do so. The Executive has agreed to adhere to these limits and all pay remits must be submitted to the Department of Finance (DOF) for approval at Ministerial level to ensure compliance. In her remit letter of 19 September 2016 to the PRRB, the Minister of Justice, Claire Sugden, reiterated this point stating, The Northern Ireland Executive has not yet agreed a public sector pay policy applicable to Northern Ireland for 2017/18. In general terms, however, it (the Executive) has endorsed the principle of adherence to the UK Government s public sector pay policies and public sector pay growth limits. Total unring-fenced Resource DEL funding for 2016/17 is 686.3m, excluding ring-fenced items. However, as the Northern Ireland Executive element of Additional Security Funding is within this allocation, the PSNI has ring-fenced the 2016/17 Security Funding requirement which reduces the Main Grant budget to 664.2m. This represents a 2% reduction to the core policing budget. The PSNI has achieved a balanced budget in 2016/17 by applying a cut in the region of 10% to the opening 2015/16 non staff budgets. This has enabled some pressures to be funded and has afforded protection to Police Officer and Staff headcount. 2.2 Pay Proposals and Recommendations for 2017/2018 The Department of Justice confirmed on 8 September 2016 that the Department of Finance had granted approval for the 2016 pay remit for Regular Officers as recommended by the Police Remuneration Review Body. This remit focused on Police Officers in Constable to Chief Superintendent ranks. Relevant pay points were raised by 1% and a similar 1% increase was applied to the NI Transitional Allowance, and to the Dog Handlers Allowance from 1 September

13 The PSNI has requested that as per 2016/17 the PRRB considers the Service Executive Team s recommendations for 2017/18 which are as follows: A 1% uplift to all pay points; Incremental pay progression for Federated and Superintending ranks; Retention of NITA with an increase of 1%; Retention of the Dog Handler s Allowance with an increase of 1%; and Review of CRTP. Pay progression is a contractual right for Police Officers but it dependant on a satisfactory performance assessment in the IPR (Individual Performance Review). Uplift Scenarios The table below shows the costs of various uplift scenarios for Federated and Superintending ranks. The provision of a1% uplift to all pay points and incremental progression creates an increase of 1.59% for staff in post. Officers who are in receipt of an incremental uplift will receive more. The average uplift per rank for incremental progression is 6.2% for Constables, which is higher than the other ranks due to the collapsing of paypoints during the pay period. The PSNI however, owing to recruitment patterns in recent years has a significant number of officers currently at the maximum of the pay scales with over half of all officers at the maximum point for their rank as shown in Figure 2 below. Figure 2 Costs of Uplift Scenarios for Federated and Superintending Ranks Proposal % Increase/ for staff in post % Increase/ for staff in post (including Recyclables)* Pay freeze 0.00% 0.00% Incremental progression with no change to scales or NCB Incremental progression & 1% NITA uplift only 1% increase in pay scales with no progression 0.65% -0.19% 0.71% -0.13% 0.88% 0.04% 13

14 1% increase in payscales & NITA- no progression Incremental Progression with 1% NCB Incremental Progression with 1% NCB & 1% on NITA 1% increase in pay scales with incremental progression 1% increase in pay scales & NITA & progression 0.96% 0.12% 1.26% 0.42% 1.32% 0.48% 1.53% 0.69% 1.59% 0.75% *Assumed wastage and recruitment of 225 officers The table below shows the anticipated breakdown of officers at the maximum of the scale across all ranks as at September All ranks show a high proportion of officers who are at the maximum of their scale. These officers will receive on average an increase of 0.8% on their total salary if a 1% increase to pay scales is enacted. Figure 3 Anticipated Breakdown of Officers at the Maximum of the Pay scale Rank Constable Sergeant Inspector Chief Inspector Supt Chief Supt % at the Maximum of the scales 68.7% 67.6% 63.4% 95.8% 67.9% 76.9% The PSNI s Chief Constable and Service Executive Team have given careful consideration to targeting pay in 2017/18 to better reflect those whose skills are most in demand and support the delivery of public services. However, whilst acknowledging that there have been difficulties in attracting officers to some geographical areas and certain specific roles, it was concluded that the implementation of a variable award would be challenging at this stage. Possible options could be considered in the future if the data were to indicate particular recruitment and retention issues. The supporting mechanisms to allow for this flexibility have not yet been developed and would require some time to embed. There are similarities to this approach and the Special Priority Scheme (SPP) which was closed on 1 January SPP provided the PSNI with the ability and flexibility to make 14

15 payments to Police Officers in qualifying posts of between 500 and 3000 per annum (in exceptional circumstances 5000). The scheme was designed to ensure that those Police Officers in the most demanding and difficult frontline operational roles should attract rewards, however, it was considered to be divisive and counterproductive in some cases. 2.3 Affordability Affordability will be dependent on the pay settlement from HM Treasury which is expected to be announced in December Therefore the PSNI budget allocation has not yet been confirmed for 2017/18 and beyond. The Chief Constable s update report to the Northern Ireland Policing Board in June 2016 made mention of the challenges ahead particularly in relation to growing legacy costs, the impact of the Voluntary Exit Scheme for Police Staff, and Police Officer headcount continuing below desired levels, leading to extra strain on existing Police Officers and pressures on overtime budgets. Although the NI Executive afforded a degree of protection to policing in the allocation of the 2016/17 budget, it is unclear if this protection will continue. The PSNI recently completed an information gathering exercise providing an assessment of funding pressures over a 3 year period requesting impacts on a range of budget reduction scenarios from 3% to 15% in addition to absorbing future pressures. Subsequently the PSNI is currently developing plans to review the impact of potential budget cuts. The current protection of headcount numbers places significant pressure on remaining budget areas with 10% reductions in non-staff and overtime budgets required to achieve the minimum budget cut scenario. Such reductions may not in all cases be achievable and where they can be made will create significant operational impact. Under the terms of the Stormont House Agreement, and reaffirmed under the Fresh Start Agreement in November 2015, funding was made available for ending paramilitarism and tackling organised crime as well as other funding set aside to set up institutions to deal with legacy issues under the Historical Enquiries Team and dealing with the past. The level of funding available to the PSNI under these strands is still to be ascertained. 15

16 2.4 Police Allowances The table below shows the total costs of permanent allowances currently being paid to officers. Figure 4 Total Cost of Permanent Allowances Payable to Officers Allowance Number in Receipt of Allowance Total Cost ( Including pensions and ERNI costs) k NI Transitional Allowance 6,781 24,651 CRTP 3,250 5,525 Rent/Housing Allowance 1,837 6,977 Compensatory Grant Inspectors Allowance The PSNI has committed to a programme of review of allowances over subsequent years. Our aim will be to ensure a systematic review of individual allowances which will enable us to ensure a clear purpose and rationale for allowances; to consider how allowances link with other pay reforms and developments in the remuneration package. Further information regarding each of these allowances is detailed below. Competence Related Threshold Payment The Competence Related Threshold Payment (CRTP) Scheme aims to reward those Police Officers who have completed at least one year at the top of their respective payscale and who perform to acceptable standards in all of the 12 criteria across four areas referred to as National Standards. Currently there are 3,250 officers in receipt of CRTP at a total cost (including pensions and ERNI) of 5,525,000. The Police Arbitration Tribunal recommended that CRTP be phased out over three years from April 2013 to April 2016 in England and Wales (E&W). In order to assist officers with a change in their pay it was proposed in the last submission that CRTP in the PSNI will be phased out as in England and Wales rather than implement an immediate withdrawal which would place considerable hardship on individual officers. 16

17 The PSNI has agreed with the Police Federation that CRTP will remain in place, working towards a review in 2018 as agreed under the PNB Framework with any change for implementation in The review will consider a phased withdrawal of the allowance as per E&W over three years as follows: From 1 April per annum; From 1 April per annum; From 1 April per annum; and From 1 April The review of CRTP will give consideration to the payment of the allowance for new applicants of whom there are 1165 officers eligible to apply during the period 2016/17 to 2019/20 as per the table below: Figure 5 - CRTP eligibility profile / / /20 Officers eligible to apply As part of Winsor CRTP was frozen in value for the PSNI but it was agreed that officers could still apply when they reached the maximum of the scale point and met relevant criteria. While the service profile below shows that there will be a reduction in some of those officers currently in receipt of CRTP through natural wastage, it is likely that this decrease will be outweighed by the numbers who will attain the requisite service to apply for CRTP as shown below. As such it is likely that without any change to the current regulations and agreement for CRTP the total payroll cost will increase year on year. Figure 6 Service Profile of Officers in Receipt of CRTP Service < >30 Officers Officers Officers Officers Officers in in in in in Receipt Cost k Receipt Cost k Receipt Cost k Receipt Cost k Receipt Cost k Officers Total in reciept Annual of CRTP Cost Grade Constable 1,197 2, ,448 4,162 Sergeant ,005 Inspector Chief Inspector Grand Total 1,376 2, , ,250 5,525 17

18 Transitional Rent/Standard Rate Housing Allowance No new recruits are eligible to receive a rent/housing allowance. There are currently 1837 officers in receipt of rent/housing allowance at a total cost of 6,977,000 (including pensions and ERNI). Standard rate housing allowance is capped at 3,500 for regular officers and the maximum transitional rent allowance payable is 3, (dependent on the rates in payment at March 1990). Transitional rent allowance also attracts a compensatory grant payment every year to take account of the tax paid on the allowance. There are 324 officers in receipt of a compensatory grant of a total cost of 681,000. Both rent and housing emoluments will naturally phase out and it is anticipated to decrease by around 800k per annum. A phased reduction in the rent housing to reduce payments over a three year period could generate additional savings of between 1.5 and 2m per annum. Temporary Supplement for Inspectors and Chief Inspectors Inspector s allowance is no longer granted to new promotions and is received by just fewer than 50% of inspectors (125 in total) with a total cost of 624k per year. This allowance has reduced over the last few years and would be anticipated to reduce further. It is acknowledged that there is a disparity between the remuneration package paid to Sergeants and Inspectors/Chief Inspectors. The temporary supplement was introduced to compensate Inspectors/Chief Inspectors for additional hours worked not being compensated by overtime payments. However, this does not compare to the potential earnings of Sergeants performing overtime. The PSNI believes that this is a particularly stretched cohort given the pay span and on-call nature of the role. This may be further evidenced in the relatively small numbers who applied for the recent Inspectors Promotion process. Northern Ireland Transitional Allowance (NITA) NITA is a special allowance payable to officers in recognition of the extraordinary circumstances under which they serve in Northern Ireland. The allowance is taxable and non-pensionable. All officers, (including Part Time Reserve Officers) up to and including the rank of Chief Constable are eligible. There are currently 6781 officers in receipt of NITA at a total cost of 24,651,000. With effect from the 1 September 2016 NITA was increased from 3,162 to 3,195 per officer per annum following the implementation of the 1% increase. The PSNI has requested that the PRRB considers the retention of NITA with an increase of 1% for 2017/18. 18

19 The policing environment within Northern Ireland has not yet normalised as the terrorist threat to Police Officers and Police Staff is still existent even when an officer is not on duty and has left the service. This subject will be discussed within Chapter 4 of this submission. NITA is non-pensionable; however, the Police Federation is seeking for the allowance to become pensionable which they estimate at a cost of 5.7m to the employer. The inclusion of the NITA as a pensionable element would have significant impact for both the PSNI and the Police Pension Schemes. Currently all officers receive the full rate of NITA of 3,195. If this element were to be made pensionable, additional employer costs of 25.1% would be required on all NITA payments. Currently this would cost a further 5.4m per annum. Such a cost to the PSNI budget could be balanced out by the withdrawal of CRTP; however this would still leave a significant impact for the Police Pension Scheme. The inclusion of NITA as a pensionable element would cause an increase in pensionable pay for all officers and as such create a future liability for the Police Pension Schemes. Such an impact would be significant, particularly for those who remain in the final salary schemes where pension could increase by up to 2,130 per annum. If implemented, this change would be required to be financed by an increase to contributions and would be likely to breach the cost cap mechanism causing significant increase to employee contributions. As such there would a significant likelihood of a reduction in monthly take home pay for officers. The PSNI therefore would view the costs and risks associated with the inclusion of NITA as a pensionable element unfeasible. On-Call Allowance On-Call is an allowance paid to officers who have been authorised to remain immediately available for duty, if required. The rates and conditions relating to the payment of On-call Allowance have been approved by the Secretary of State under Regulation 3 3(1) of the PSNI Regulations, 2005 and current rates are detailed in the table below: 19

20 Figure 7 Current PSNI On-Call Rates 1. For each evening or weekend day Any time on-call during a day considered a public holiday within the terms of the PSNI Regulations The term day means a period of 24 hours commencing at such time as is appropriate for the individual officer. For the purpose of on-call allowance, the 24 hours period will commence at the moment that the on-call requirement commences. Each new period will commence at the end of each 24 hour period. Currently the level of On-Call within the PSNI costs 1.5m per annum (including ERNI). While On-Call is variable, it is predominately used within Crime Operations and Operational Support Departments due to the nature of the work being undertaken. As part of the Winsor Reforms the rates of On-Call increased. However over the last two years the incidence of On-Call has reduced slightly (in 2014 over 100,000 periods of on call were paid, while this has dropped to just over 80,000 in 2016). A new Duty Officer System was introduced at the start of September 2016 for the functions of Duty Senior Officer, Duty ACC, Duty Silver Officer, Duty Strategic Firearms Commander, Area Duty Officer and Duty Tactical Firearms Commander. These roles are now performed via an on-duty rather than an on-call arrangement. The frequency of these duties varies depending on which rota an officer is on but primarily there is one duty weekend per weeks. Week day arrangements remain on-call and again the frequency of this varies depending on the role. These new arrangements are being reviewed after 3 months at the end of December 2016 to assess the impact of the change. To date Crime Operations Department have not implemented the new arrangements. Dog Handlers Allowance Dog Handlers Allowance is an allowance payable to officers who keep and care for a dog owned by the Policing Board at their home. The allowance is provided for the care afforded to the dog during the officer s rest days, non-working days and public holidays. With effect from the 1 September 2016 the Dog Handlers Allowance has increased from 2,196 to 2,217 following the implementation of the 1% increase. This rate is increased by 25% for each additional dog being cared for by an individual officer. The PSNI has requested that the PRRB considers the retention of this allowance with an increase of 1% for 2017/18. 20

21 2.5 Parity with England and Wales The budgetary constraints, within which the PSNI operates, require a need for Mutual Aid, collaboration and interoperability in pay systems in policing. The benefits of having parity with E&W are as follows: Uniformity with England and Wales and adherence to UK Government s Pay Policy; Interoperability for transferees and Mutual Aid; Interchange of skills and experience; Underpinning resilience in light of cumulative impact of recent pay constraints and pension changes; and Operational requirements and doing more with less and sharing resources. It is not envisaged at this point in time that the PSNI will seek specialist recruitment from other Forces in E&W. The PSNI previously advertised for transferees in E&W (2007, 2011, 2013) to address business critical skills gaps in the organisation arising from the legacy of the Severance Scheme (primarily experienced Detectives), but this has since been managed by internal development programmes and there is no expectation that we will require further specialist recruitment in the short term. Promotion opportunities from Chief Inspector and above are advertised to all UK Forces and An Garda Síochána (AGS) and the promotion processes are iterative. 2.6 Work of Other Bodies College of Policing The PSNI is working closely with Police and Crime Commissioners and the College of Policing (COP) to draw on the wider aspects of policing such as different operating environments within forces and police workforce developments. The COP s Leadership Review will have significant implications for Police Officers pay and conditions. The College of Policing s 2015 Leadership Review identified recruitment and promotion as one means of addressing the problem of inconsistency in all roles, ranks, and grades. It is acknowledged 21

22 that existing policing roles and ranks lack the consistent, national education levels that would be considered commensurate with that of a profession. The Deputy Chief Constable Drew Harris has taken on the role of Continuing Professional Development Champion for the organisation and a new Leadership & Professional Development Unit (LPDU) has been formed within the HR Department. The unit is responsible for undertaking the following actions: Examining the final draft version of the Competency and Values Framework to identify how the PSNI Policing with the Community behaviours will map across to this; Identifying an implementation plan with timelines for this framework; Developing links with the Curriculum, Assessment and Accreditation function within the COP; Developing a network of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) leads who will have ownership for identifying and facilitating appropriate CPD actions within job families and discreet work functions; and Reviewing role profiles. New PSNI regulations to facilitate the Fast Track Inspector (internal) scheme have been drafted by the DOJ and are awaiting Ministerial approval. The PSNI has also sought the support of the Minister for the introduction of the Direct Entry Superintendent Scheme within the PSNI. LPDU have developed a new Leadership Strategy which has used the COP and HMIC Leadership Guiding Principles as its base. The PSNI has not yet sought to implement the Assessment and Recognition of Competence (ARC) process for Constables approaching pay point 4 in their policing career. Police and Crime Commission The role of the Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) is to be the voice of the people and hold the police to account. They are responsible for the totality of policing. Every UK force area is represented by a PCC, except Greater Manchester and London, where PCC responsibilities lie with the Mayor. The Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR) was first implemented in July 2012 to empower and enable PCC s to deliver the important role of holding Chief Constables to account to ensure that, when threats and harm to public safety 22

23 assume national dimensions, the police can deliver an appropriate robust, national response. In consideration of the change in the policing landscape, the changing nature of crime since 2012 and, in consultation with PCCs, chief officers and wider policing partners, the SPR was refreshed in March The national threats are terrorism, organised crime, cyber, public disorder, civil emergencies and child sexual abuse. These cross-boundary threats require a collaborative national response. The PSNI recognises that collaboration is an important tool for the police service to achieve cost savings while maintaining or improving services, and for making specialist services more effective by bringing them together. Collaboration is also necessary for the police to be able to deal effectively with the areas of crime that go beyond a single force s borders or are better served by specialist teams, for example, counter-terrorism and organised crime. Collaboration can be about one or more of the following: Carrying out policing functions (force collaboration) which focus on operational services (e.g. firearms/investigations) or support (e.g. dog training/ forensics); The support by one policing body for another policing body (policing body collaboration); and The support by a policing body for a police force maintained by another policing body (policing body and force collaboration). 2.7 Police Pensions Following the introduction of the Pension Reforms in April 2015, the PSNI currently administers three pension schemes for Police Officers. The 1988 and the 2006 schemes are both final salary pension schemes and the new 2015 scheme is a Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) scheme. Currently officers who are members of one of these pension schemes will pay contributions based on the scheme and their annual salary, as set out below. 23

24 Figure 8 Pension Scheme and Contribution Rate Pay Pension Scheme Contribution rate 1988 N/A Under 27, % % , Over 60, Some officers depending on age and service maintained full protection and remain within their original pension scheme with preserved benefits, while other officers moved on the 1 April to the new CARE scheme, with some officers moving on specific tapered dates. The current pension scheme make up is shown below. Figure 9 Pension Scheme Membership Scheme Members Tapered officers 1998 Scheme 2, Scheme Scheme 4,301 24

25 The introduction of the new pension scheme has not caused any significant change in membership or affected opt out rates. The majority of opt outs have come from officers who have maximised their pensionable service in the 1988 scheme. However the introduction of the cost cap, the level by which employers contributions will increase due to changes to the scheme valuation, will need to be considered as part of any pay proposals. If there was to be a significant increase in pensionable pay then this could cause an increase in the level of employee contributions going forward. Pensions Taxation The decrease in the level of the Lifetime and Annual allowances for pensions to 1m and 40k respectively has had an increased impact on the number of officers affected by these limits. This is predominately an issue for officers in a final salary scheme who have had successive promotions or temporary promotions, and senior officers of Superintendent rank and above. Changes to pay and notably pensionable pay could impact on individual tax liabilities. At senior levels some officers have noted that the impact of these taxes will have a bearing on their decision to accept or participate in temporary promotion competitions. 25

26 CHAPTER 3: ECONOMY AND EARNINGS 3.1 Legislative Obligations The PSNI s pay submission gives consideration to the relevant legal obligations placed on our Police Service and changes to employment law. In Northern Ireland these obligations include anti-discrimination legislation regarding age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion and belief, and disability. Cognizance is also taken of any legislative changes to employment law which do not automatically apply to Police Officers. Consideration of reforms to provide pay flexibility in Police Regulations and the introduction of greater discretion for the PSNI pay package would, if implemented, require legislative changes. Secretary of State James Brokenshire in delivering his closing speech at the Irish Times Brexit Summary on 7 November 2016 stated that in the next session of Parliament we will introduce a Great Repeal Bill to remove the European Communities Act from the statute book on the day we leave. This will mean that the authority of EU law in the United Kingdom will end in the next session of Parliament. In terms of the UK economic recession, the political decision of Brexit will have an impact on the UK s economic stability. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) have said that the country will go through a marked economic slowdown this year and next. An economic slowdown could mean higher unemployment and less productivity. Price Waterhouse Coopers have published a document based on the impact of Brexit on Government and public sector. In the document it makes mention that there will also be an impact on public sector bodies as employers, whether it is in terms of changes to UK employment law (e.g. Working Time Regulations 1998, Agency Worker Regulations 2010) or to Government procurement, which is currently subject to EU law. 3.2 Northern Ireland Economy The latest Northern Ireland Composite Economic Index (NICEI) has shown that economic activity has increased by 1.0% over the quarter to June 2016 and by 1.6% over the year. This growth was once again driven by the private sector (particularly the service sector) which experienced annual growth of 2.9% but conditions within the public sector remain comparatively stagnant as it experienced a contraction over the year of 2.6%. The graph 26

27 below provides an overview of performance of the Northern Ireland economy for 2016 within both quarter 2 and the year as a whole. Figure 10 - Overview of Performance of the Northern Ireland Economy for 2016 The public sector index continues to be impacted by the Voluntary Exit Scheme (VES) implemented by the Northern Ireland Civil Service during 2015/16. The rise in uncertainty and financial market moves associated with the vote in June to leave the European Union are factors which are likely to have implications for external and domestic cost pressures. 3.3 Labour Market The latest NI labour market statistics continue to show improvements across a range of indicators. The NI public sector is made up of 28% of all employee jobs compared to 72% made from the private sector. The employment rate (June-August 2016) stands at 70.1%, which is up by 2.2 percentage points over the year and is the highest since the time series began in The increase has been driven by the female employment rate increasing by 4.3 percentage points over the year. The unemployment rate for June-August 2016 was 5.5%, down 0.5 percentage points over the year and at its lowest rate since Sept-Nov Long term unemployment was down 13 percentage points over the year to 45.9% but remains well above the UK average rate of 25.6%. Youth unemployment was down 5.6 percentage points over the year to 13.2%. The largest decrease over the year (2,863 jobs) occurred in the NI Central Government section of the public sector with the majority of the decrease coming from NI Civil Service. 27

28 There has also been a 68% increase in the number of confirmed redundancies over the last year to 31 July 2016 with 3,214 compared to 1,910 in the previous year (increase of 68%).Overall the labour market trends continue to show an improving economic landscape, however it is recognised that challenges remain and further improvements are required if the Northern Ireland economy is to close the gap with the UK labour market. This is illustrated in the table below which provides an overview of the differing rates of employment /unemployment in the private and public sectors over a 10 year span. Figure 11 - Rates of Employment /Unemployment in the Private and Public Sectors Labour Economy Unemployment rate Employment rate Economic Inactivity Rate Northern Ireland 6.0% Decreased by 69.0% unchanged 26.4% increased by 0.1pps over the quarter 0.2pps UK 4.9% decreased by 74.5% increased by 21.6% decreased by 0.2pps 0.3pps 0.2pps 3.4 Earnings The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) is a UK wide survey that provides information on hourly, weekly and annual earnings by gender, work patterns, industry and occupation, including public versus private sector pay comparisons. In April 2016 median gross weekly earnings for NI full time employees were 495, up 2.2% from 485 in This increase was the same as that of UK employees and the second consecutive annual increase in inflation adjusted earnings. However, in overall terms, NI still lags behind the earnings profile of the UK where full time employees were earning 539 in 2016 ( 527 in 2015). The increase in NI median gross weekly earnings was more marked in the public than in the private sector. The full-time median gross weekly earnings in the private sector increased by 1.9% to 435, compared to a 3.9% increase in the public sector, to 619. As show in the graph below, when compared with the UK, median gross weekly earnings of full-time public 28

29 sector employees in NI were 4.3% higher and full-time private sector earnings in NI were 16.0% lower. Figure 12 Median Gross FT Weekly Earnings in NI and UK For full-time NI employees, median gross weekly earnings in the private sector were 29.9% lower than in the public sector at April In the UK, the equivalent median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees were 12.9% lower in the private sector than in the public sector. Despite the increases recorded over the year, NI earnings remained well below the UK average and were the fourth lowest of the 12 UK regions. 29

30 CHAPTER 4: THE POLICING ENVIRONMENT AND SECURITY SITUATION 4.1 The Security Situation Current Threat The Security Service (MI5) continues to assess the threat posed by Northern Ireland Related Terrorism (NIRT) to Northern Ireland as SEVERE, meaning an attack is highly likely. This remains higher than the rest of Great Britain (GB), where whilst the level was raised in May 2016, is presently assessed as SUBSTANTIAL. The Northern Ireland specific threat (which has been at the SEVERE level since February 2009) comes primarily from Violent Dissident Republican s (VDR s), who continue to have a significant negative impact not only in the communities in which they primarily operate, but across NI as a whole. The pace of VDR activity remains high, and 2016 has been a challenging year for the security services in thwarting VDR planning given their increased activity including organising and participating in the large number of parades - many un-notified to the Parades Commission, which have taken place as commemorations to events such as the 100 th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The table below provides a snapshot of activity for the last financial year compared to previous years. Figure 13 Comparison of Terrorist Incidents for 2014/15 and 2015/16 Incident Types 14/15 15/16 Change from 2014/15 Deaths 3 3 Unchanged Shooting Incidents % Reduction Bombing Incidents % Increase Paramilitary Style Assaults Unchanged Paramilitary Style Shootings % Reduction Firearms Recovered % Increase Explosives Recovered (kg) % Reduction 30

31 Rounds of Ammunition Recovered 4,569 4, % Reduction Section 41 Arrests % Reduction Arrests under Section 41 and Subsequently Charged % Reduction As evidenced in the table above, the severity of VDR attacks remains extant with 3 murders in 2015/16 (the same number as FY2014/15) including the tragic murder of a Northern Ireland Prison Service Officer in March In more recent months two further security attacks on PSNI patrols were also undertaken assessed to be by VDR s on 9 August 2016 in Belfast and 16 August 2016 in Londonderry, both in the form of pipe bomb attacks, clearly evidencing the VDR on-going commitment to kill or seriously injure those who seek to uphold the law and Keep People Safe. It should also be noted that Police and MI5 activity is a key factor in managing the threat. High levels of overt activity coupled with significant investigatory activity have thwarted a number of terrorist plots. So far this year the PSNI has made 59 arrests of which 8 have been charged for terrorist related offences. This year to date, 8 Police Officers have been required to move out of their homes due to threat/intimidation. Future Threat Looking forward, the VDR threat is an enduring factor in Northern Ireland coupled with their aspirations to mount further attacks in GB as part of their strategic planning. VDR s seek to gain support for their cause (and control by fear) through carrying out attacks within their own communities, with the same number of Paramilitary Style assaults (58) recorded in FY 2015/16 as 2014/15. Whilst paramilitary shootings were reduced, the intent to cause harm remains evident with more firearms recovered (66) in 2015/16 as opposed to 58 in FY 2014/15. More recent seizures of significant items believed to be connected to VDR activity reinforce the enduring future threat. For example, on 9 July 2016 items for use in an Improvised Explosives Device were recovered at the Skegoe Road, Londonderry. In addition, in early August 2016 a large quantity of equipment for use in bomb making was discovered in a 31

32 number of locations in the Larne, County Antrim area linked to the arrest of a member of the security forces who was residing in GB. There have also been recent significant recent arrests including 4 in Lurgan, County Armagh on 21 September 2016 which led to 3 persons being charged for preparing for acts of terror and 1 for attempted murder. All of these activities evidence that VDRs remain committed in both the short and long term to kill or seriously injure and therefore pose a real threat to national security and public safety. Whilst it is noted that the number of recorded National Security attacks has decreased (16 in 2015, and 4 to date in 2016), the rate at which VDR activity has been carried out, remains high. It is also assessed that the reduction in the number of attacks is largely attributed to security service collaboration and the PSNI s efforts to robustly disrupt planned attacks. This is coupled with the VDR strategy to carry out higher level attacks which have a greater impact, such as the tragic murder of the Northern Ireland Prison Service Officer in March In summary, it is imperative that the PSNI retains the resources and finances to continue to tackle the VDR campaign of terrorism. Failure to do so would most likely see the volume of attacks increase again, potentially resulting in further serious injury or murder across Northern Ireland or wider GB. Security Funding Additional Security funding (ASF) has been critical to the PSNI in order to effectively tackle the Northern Ireland Related Terrorism threat since 2011 as pressure from the PSNI and security partners remains the main barrier to thwarting NIRT attacks and activity. As such, in 2011 the National Security Council (NSC) agreed to an additional 4 year funding package of 199.5M, with further funds also received from the DOJ. In December 2015 the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced approval for a further allocation of 32m per year totalling 160m for the period in Additional Security Funding (ASF) for NI. A bid for the same financial period, to the value of 164m was submitted to the Department of Justice; however the NI Executive has not yet set budgets beyond 2016/17. Around 32.1m has been allocated to the PSNI for additional security funding expenditure during FY 2016/17, totalling in the region of 64.1m. 32

33 The National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 entitled A Secure and Prosperous United Kingdom, presented to Parliament by the Prime Minister by Command of Her Majesty in November 2015 highlighted that that the PSNI will maintain investment in our capabilities to keep the people of Northern Ireland safe. Over this Parliament, they will provide the PSNI with Additional Security Funding to tackle the threat in Northern Ireland and cross-government spending on counter-terrorism as a whole will increase by 30% in real terms over this Parliament. The PSNI spends an estimated 27% of its main grant budget dealing with the current security situation. This diverts limited resources away from day to day policing and means that any reduction in main grant funding has a potentially direct impact on national security issues. Operational capability is a major aspect of ASF through improving and extending the PSNI s ability to conduct operations and other policing duties. The three main areas of PSNI operational activity that are supported by ASF are: Prioritised national security operations; Overt policing of prioritised individuals; and Overt response policing for national security purposes. Benefits realised as a result of ASF across these areas include pursuit of VDR activities undertaken by Crime Operations Department, Districts and Operational Support Department. Additional Security Funding enhances the PSNI s ability to undertake overt security patrolling, intelligence gathering, conducting terrorist investigations and undertaking search and specialist operations. Crime Operations Department focuses on covert and prioritised elements of Counter Terrorism policing, while Districts concentrate on the overt policing element using uniformed officers to tackle the National Security threat. If Additional Security Funding were to be reduced or removed, the focus of National Security operations may be reduced due to a potential reduction in officer numbers. This would have a negative impact on PSNI s intelligence gathering capability and our capacity to conduct overt security patrolling to thwart VDR activity. The resulting strategic impact would see the PSNI s ability to tackle the VDR threat reduced, thereby creating a risk of failure in the PSNI s vision to Keep People Safe and bring an end to paramilitary activity in line with the 33

34 Northern Ireland Executive s Fresh Start objectives and compliance with Section 32 of the Police Act. In the Chief Constable's 2016 Formal Report to the NIPB he states that the PSNI remains committed to working closely with European countries to keep people in the UK safe from organised crime, cyber-attack, terrorism or violent offenders. This operational requirement must be maintained as the UK leaves the European Union. Sunday 13 November 2016 marked the first anniversary of the jihadist terrorist attacks on the people of Paris. Memories of those horrific events are still vivid and emotional wounds are still healing. The attacks were an attempt to terrorise innocent civilians and represented an assault on universal values that we hold dear throughout Europe. This anniversary is a further reminder of the volatile terrorist threat faced in Europe today. 4.2 The Policing Environment A retrenching public sector and reduction in funding for the Voluntary Sector has placed a greater burden on policing services as partners are limited in meeting their own responsibilities as well as partnership and collaborative agreements/arrangements. Specifically this has seen policing challenges in relation to dealing with mental health issues and missing persons. Increased global movement of people and migration bring policing challenges in delivering a service to diverse communities. Other UK forces are exploring different ways in which the public can access policing services at a time where austerity requires that overheads are minimised. In the PSNI this has meant working with the NIPB to reduce the size of its estate. The continuing security threat means that the remaining and any new police estate needs additional physical security. This makes co-location with other services, including access points in shopping and city centre locations extremely difficult. The Service has compensated for this in part by increasing its social media presence and is planning an interactive website in the future. Emerging and changing crime patterns, mostly borne out of advances in Information Technology means that policing needs to keep pace with what that looks like and maintain and grow the ability for prevention and detection. 34

35 4.3 Mutual Aid Mutual Aid can be described as the provision of policing assistance from one force to another. It is a formal arrangement and is similar to the provision of Special Police Services. As such, Mutual Aid is usually provided in response to or in anticipation of a major incident or event. Mutual Aid activity ranges from small scale, inter-force support, through reacting to a significant or serious incident to, in some cases supporting a force or Government department in a large pre-planned event. It provides an overall resilience to the provision of effective policing of the incident and force area in question. The PEEL HMIC February Report 2016 makes mention of Mutual Aid for the PSNI and highlights that the lead-in time for Mutual Aid from police forces in England and Wales means that the service needs to retain its own surge capacity to make sure it can Keep People Safe during outbreaks of public disorder. Mutual Aid is available from forces in England and Wales, but the arrangements necessary for travel, accommodation, briefing and deployment mean that these resources are not immediately available to respond to spontaneous disorder. Mutual Aid works better for planned operations such as the policing of the G8 summit rather than the rolling response to disorder; and the additional armed officers that the PSNI must contribute to a public order team from England and Wales to provide firearms cover, which reduces the cost saving to the PSNI from Mutual Aid. The effect is that the PSNI has to maintain sufficient resources of its own to allow it to act independently in response to serious disorder and cannot cut officer numbers or reduce Police Support Unit training in the same way that English and Welsh forces can through collaborated units and Mutual Aid arrangements. The PSNI does not have a collaborative arrangement with its counterpart in Ireland, the An Garda Síochána (AGS), for service provision or policing arrangements. The PSNI does have some joint information-sharing agreements in place with the AGS but formal collaboration, as seen in England and Wales, is legislatively not possible. The occurrences where the PSNI received Mutual Aid from E&W forces is detailed in the table below: 35

36 Figure 14 - PSNI Receiving Assistance from Mutual Aid Event Number of Police Service Officers Twelfth Celebrations South Wales Police Twelfth Celebrations Dyfed Powys Twelfth Celebrations Cumbria Twelfth Celebrations Merseyside Twelfth Celebrations GMP Black Preceptory Parades 2 Police Scotland Black Preceptory Parades 1 Merseyside Remembrance Day Events 1 Cumbria Constabulary Remembrance Day Events 1 Merseyside Remembrance Day Events 2 Police Scotland Remembrance Day Events 1 Humberside Police Figure 15 - PSNI Providing Assistance for Mutual Aid Event Number of Officers Police Service Syrian Conference 18 Manchester Police Frampton v Quigg Boxing Match 4 British Transport Police 4.4 Modified Rest Days (MRDs) The Police Federation has launched a Good Will Survey and initial indications are that officers have expressed concern at being called in from rest days to attend court and not receiving sufficient rest as a result of being required to stay on after completing their contracted working hours. Additional commitments have resulted in the accumulation of Modified Rest Days/Monthly Leave Days. The management of Modified Rest Days and Monthly Leave Days is set out in the PSNI Regulations 2005 and associated Determinations. The timelines specified in the Regulations must be complied with and there is no regulatory authority to make payment for untaken MRDs. 36

37 In July 2014, it was estimated that there were in excess of 50,000 MRDs banked by officers allowing for officers not yet on the Options System. A 60 Second Briefing was issued to the organisation on 31 July 2014 in this regard. The Senior Executive Team instructed that local management should put in place arrangements to ensure a significant reduction in the number of MRDs/Monthly Leave Days by 31 March 2016, although this timeline was later extended to 31 March 2017 following representation by the Superintendents Association Northern Ireland (SANI) to relax the deadline. As a minimum requirement, an officer s MRD total was to be managed to fall within the range of 10 to 15 days maximum, dependent on MRDs/Monthly Leave Days originally held. Where an officer had a small number of MRDs/Monthly Leave Days banked these were to be reduced to zero. The number of untaken modified rest days across all ranks at 24 November 2016 was 18,300. This figure represents an overall reduction of around 63.4%. A breakdown of the number of MRDs untaken in respect of Federated and Superintending ranks is detailed in the table below: Figure 16 - Number of untaken MRD s per rank (as at November 2016) Rank Number of Untaken MRDs Chief Superintendent 548 Superintendent 1142 Chief Inspector 1159 Inspector Sergeant Constable 9766 Total 18160* *Excludes ACPO ranks 37

38 CHAPTER 5: THE PSNI Workforce 5.1 Police Officer Numbers The Workforce Model, also referred to as the HR Distribution Plan (HRDP) defines the allocation of Police and Police Staff across the PSNI. This is the means by which non pay budgets are set and distributed in the devolved environment and identifies the focus for necessary actions to manage the allocation of resources. The background within which the PSNI has developed an effective and affordable staffing model has been complex due to: the removal of all Temporary Workers as of 31 st December 2014; changes in Managed Services; continued uncertainty regarding the 2017/18 and future budget settlements; the reconfiguration of the organisation to reflect changes in the operating model; the new council areas; and the Voluntary Exit Scheme for Police Staff. At this point, the PSNI is committed to maintaining an operational capability against an Establishment Model of 6983 Police Officers. All Police Officer posts are funded from main grant funding as per the table below with the exception of 309 where Additional security Funding has been made available, 2 externally funded and 19 through Fresh Start Funding. 38

39 Figure 17 Police Funded Posts (FTE) Police Funded Posts Department/District CC DCC ACC Ch Supt Supt Ch Insp Insp Sergt Con Student Officer Total COMMAND CORP COMMS CRIME OPS FIN & SUPPT HR DEPT OP SUPPORT LEGACY/JUST DIST POL COM BELFAST AREA BELFAST AREA A-DISTRICT Belfast City BELFAST AREA Sub Total NORTH AREA H-DISTRICT Derry City & Strabane NORTH AREA J-DISTRICT Causeway Coast & Glens K-DISTRICT Mid & East Antrim L-DISTRICT Antrim & Newtownabbey NORTH AREA Sub Total SOUTH AREA B-DISTRICT Lisburn & Castlereagh City C-DISTRICT Ards & North Down SOUTH AREA D-DISTRICT Newry, Mourne & Down E-DISTRICT Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon F-DISTRICT Mid Ulster G-DISTRICT Fermanagh & Omagh SOUTH AREA Sub Total Overall District Policing Sub Total SERVICE O/HD Grand Total

40 5.2 Recruitment Background 50:50 Recruitment was temporarily introduced in Northern Ireland to increase the Catholic composition of the PSNI, and create a service which was broadly representative of the community. As a result of recommendations in the 1999 Report of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland (the Patten Report), temporary provisions, effected by the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000, were introduced in November 2001, and remained in place for 10 years. In order to introduce these provisions, the Government had to obtain from the Council of the European Union an exemption from the Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000, which established a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation. For recruitment competitions where there were six or more vacancies of a similar nature to be filled, all candidates who reached a specified standard of merit in the selection procedure were placed in a pool from which an equal number of Protestants and Catholics were then drawn for appointment. The Patten Report envisaged that such a model would quadruple the proportion of Catholic officers within 10 years and would take Catholic composition of PSNI officers to between 29% and 33%. In 2001, Catholic composition in the Royal Ulster Constabulary was 8.3%, and by November 2010, Catholic composition in the PSNI was 29.38%. Over this same period, the Catholic application rate increased from 23.33% to around 37%. The Patten Commission saw representativeness, and in particular, community background as crucial to the PSNI. Patten s recommendation on 50:50 legislation ended when the PSNI reached the target of 30% catholic officers in The PSNI still faces challenges in achieving a service that is truly representative of the community. Women, young people and members of the Catholic community continue to be under-represented in the PSNI. 5.3 Recruitment Assessment of Need In relation to retention pressures, the retention rate for Police Officers is currently running at 4.5% which would be indicative of a stable workforce, however the rate at which regular officers leave within a year of achieving 30 years pensionable service has been gradually increasing from 47.1% (2012/13), 48.4% (2013/14), 50.0% (2014/15) to 51.4% (2015/16). This will have an impact on Police Officer recruitment. Based on experience gained from previous recruitment campaigns, the PSNI anticipates an attrition rate of approximately 40% of successful candidates from the merit list supplied by the external recruitment agent. This fall-out rate includes those who fail, or do not attend, one or more of the 5 PSNI recruitment 40

41 stages. The PSNI manages the risks in regard to the attrition rate by securing a merit list of broadly double the number of appointments anticipated from a competition, this figure being subject to affordability and sustainability in the face of budgetary cuts. The tables below show the number of applicants for recruitment competitions from March 2001 to September Figure 18 - Competitions 1 16 under the 50/50 legislation Applicants Date Advertised Comp March 2001 Comp September 2001 Comp March 2002 Comp September 2002 Comp March 2003 Comp September 2003 Comp March 2004 Comp September 2004 Comp March 2005 Comp September 2005 Comp March 2006 Comp September 2006 Comp June 2007 Comp March 2008 Comp March 2009 Comp January 2010 Figure 19 - Competitions post withdrawal of 50/50 legislation Comp September 2013 Comp May 2014 Comp September 2015 Total

42 The applicant figures can be influenced by a number of external and/or prevailing circumstances, which include, but are not limited to: uncertainty over sustainability of future job opportunities subsequent to budget cuts; perception of impact of recruitment in the post Patten era; prevailing security situation and threat levels; absence of open support for the police recruitment process; reduction in starting salary from Campaign 18 on; some campaigns administered within a short timescale. As at 1 December 2016, the number of student officers appointed since the inception of the PSNI in 2001 is 5,107, from a total applicant pool of 126,481. The recruitment campaign has clearly targeted audiences and the set percentages for each performance criteria as detailed below have to be achieved over the period of the contract. Figure 20 Recruitment Contract Performance Criteria Contract Requirement Performance Measure Metric Performance in Campaign 1 Performance in Campaign 2 Performance in Campaign 3 Proportion of Roman Catholics applying 35% (average to be achieved over term of recruitment contract) 30.6% 29.3% 31.8% Proportion of women applying 30% (average to be achieved over term of recruitment contract) 35.2% 35.5% 35.7% Outreach/ Advertising Proportion of young people (aged 18-24) applying 40% (average to be achieved over term of recruitment contract) 47.1% 43.8% 45.2% Proportion of applications from F District area >10% (average to be achieved over term of recruitment contract) 7.6% 6.6% *N/A District boundary changes Proportion of applications from G District area >10% (average to be achieved over term of recruitment contract) 8.9% 7.9% *N/A District boundary changes * Recruitment from Competition 2 is ongoing. These are the latest figures up to 27 th November

43 To date the young people and female targets have been achieved. The age bands of successful applicants for competitions one and two (to date) are detailed in the tables below. The largest percentage of successful applicants in both competitions is in the age bands with 39.15% and 39.44% respectively. The proportion of young people appointed (aged between18-24) is 39.40% in Campaign 1 and 38.98% in Campaign 2 to date. Figure 21 - Age Bands of Successful Appointments * Recruitment from Competition 2 is ongoing. These are the latest figures up to 1 st December For the Catholic community and rural Districts, between 66 and 80% of the targets set have been achieved. The tables below show the educational standard of the appointments for Campaigns 1 and 2. Over half of the appointments in both competitions have a degree level or higher qualification. Figure 22 Educational Qualifications of Successful Appointments * Recruitment from Competition 2 is ongoing. These are the latest figures up to 1 December The graph below shows analysis of the number of appointments for Campaigns 1 and 2 by employment sector. For both competitions the highest percentage of applicants is from the retail and retail management sector followed by the hospitality and leisure sector. 43

44 Figure 23 Number of applicants by employment sector 5.4 Recruitment Campaigns Appointments from the 2015 police recruitment campaign were due to commence in September 2016, however the appointments process was placed on hold to facilitate a review of the Police College. This review focused on the following areas: - content of the student officer programme - culture within the Police College - verification of examinations and assessments - accreditation and relationship with the Ulster University - benchmarking with other police services Further to completion of a number of the recommendations arising from this review, agreement was reached for the appointments process to resume and appointment offers have been made to candidates to commence student officer training in January In addition, equality analysis of 2013 and 2014 recruitment data identified lower than expected applications from individuals from a Roman Catholic community background (31%) and also a lower success rate among Catholic applicants (19% of appointees). On this basis, a research project was commissioned to: 44

45 - identify and define barriers that prevent individuals from seeing the PSNI as an attractive career option - assess whether there are barriers to progression within the current process - consider ways in which PSNI could be made a more attractive career option In terms of this pay submission, it is relevant to note that the research project has reported that salary and benefits and career progression are vitally important factors taken into consideration when considering a career in the PSNI. These are most important for those who are from a Catholic community background, females, those from C2DE socio-economic groups and those distinguishing themselves as Irish/Northern Irish. Particular reference was made in the survey to the reduction in salary from 2013/2014 and that this reduction is of greater importance to Roman Catholics and females. It has also been identified that the current salary does not compare favourably to other public service careers, with the starting salary below that of the Fire Service and Ambulance Service. PSNI is currently developing an action plan based on the recommendations arising for this report and it is intended that, in consultation with key stakeholders, the next recruitment campaign will be launched in the Spring of Police Promotion Process A promotion process for all officer ranks within the PSNI was implemented to substantively fill resourcing gaps which had been filled by temporary promotion arrangements. A Strategic Promotion and Examinations Board was established from key business areas, co-chaired by an ACC and the T/Director of Finance & Support Services and Human Resources, as an oversight body to ensure that all promotion processes supported the following approach: defining and delivering standards; promoting representativeness; involving local management in decision making; minimising operational impact, and ensuring value for money. The promotion competitions were established, invoking high levels of eligibility criteria which included discipline, attendance and performance standards. The intention of the Board, with 45

46 the endorsement of Service Executive Team, was to have an iterative promotion programme for all ranks. The Strategic Promotions and Examinations Board considered the projected wastage rates for each year and the number of vacancies which would ensue. The current position on anticipated vacancies to 31 March 2018 at each rank is as follows: Figure 24 - Anticipated Vacancies up to 31 March 2018 Rank Anticipated Vacancies to 31 March 2018 Current Vacancies 31/10/2016 Forecast Wastage to 31/3/2017 Forecast Wastage in 2017/2018 Vacancies to 31/3/2018 Promotions Required to fill all Vacancies to 31 Mar 2018 Ch Supt Supt Ch Insp Insp Sergt The Police Federation has commented in their previous submission to the Review Body that the numbers exiting the PSNI are higher than those recruited and as numbers continue to decrease the remaining officers are burdened with the increased workload. Defining the position on future officer numbers, against a reducing headcount, is complicated by the current financial uncertainty. The PSNI has previously faced challenges, including Judicial Reviews, with regards to the implementation of promotion processes. It has therefore been essential to design and deliver robust assessment processes which not only identified the best candidates but which could withstand intense scrutiny and legal challenge. Extensive research and analysis is performed to devise the assessment material and best practice is adapted to brief and advise potential candidates of the assessment procedures and corporate standards for the management of roles going forward. A Chief Inspector promotion process was launched on 1 February 2016 and invited applications from cross channel forces and An Garda Síochána. The process is now complete with 31 officers promoted with effect from 1 August The promotion processes for Chief Superintendent, Superintendent, Inspector and Sergeant are currently ongoing. 46

47 5.6 Wastage The following table illustrates projected Police Officer recruitment and wastage to March Figure 25 Wastage and Recruitment of Police Officers Police Officers Month Recruitment Wastage Headcount FTE Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

48 Jan Feb Mar *The above table refers to all Police Officer ranks. 5.7 Exit Interviews During the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 there were a total of 326 Police Officer (Regular) leavers. 208 (64%) of whom retired, 48 (15%) who voluntarily resigned and 70 (21%) who left the PSNI for other reasons e.g. dismissal, medical retirement. Of those who retired or voluntarily resigned, 17 (7%) completed an exit interview. Analysis of this data is as below: 11 (65%) of those who completed an exit interview had less than 5 years service (10 Student Officers and 1 Constable) and 4 (24%) had 5 10 years service. The primary reasons for leaving were self-improvement (35%) and domestic reasons (35%). There were no overarching main factors in the decision to leave. 5.8 Absence Management The target for officers this year is Average Working Days Lost (AWDL). The projected annual figure is now AWDL, which will achieve the target reduction for officers. During the period April 2016 to October 2016, 1931 officers were on sickness absence. This is a reduction of 171 based on the same period last year. The number of occurrences of Police Officer sickness has also reduced compared to the same period last year (2146 against 2359 during the same period in the previous year). 48

49 Figure 26 Comparison of monthly average working days lost 2015/16 and 2016/17 High levels of Sickness and Morale The PSNI commissioned an Employee Engagement & Wellbeing Survey across the organisation (with Durham University Business School) in early 2016, with the results being provided to all officers and Police Staff in the summer of The survey focused on 23 measures which were used to determine job satisfaction levels, motivation, well-being status, staff attitudes and an assessment of various workplace factors. The 23 measures used both relate and specifically impact on the following four areas, all of which have a direct influence on the resulting levels of engagement and well-being across the PSNI workforce. Leadership; Fairness Perceptions; Public Service Motivation; Emotional Energy. Durham Business School has also been working with a number of other police services in GB around engagement & well-being and were able to compare and contrast the PSNI survey results alongside those of other police services and police cultures. 49

50 The response rate for the survey across Police Officers was 39.4% and was considered statistically viable. The key findings for officers indicated that job satisfaction was positive (4.52) and public service motivation (4.87). Voice Behaviour (defined as officer communication around ideas, suggestions, concerns and information on work-related issues 4.95), empowerment (4.88) and self-esteem (4.25) were also considered to be positive. Perceptions of fairness and organisational support amongst officers were considered to be low (2.67 & 2.51 respectively). This is similar to findings from other such surveys conducted across other GB police services. Commitment to the public and extra mile behaviours were identified as very high (5.36 & 5.03) alongside identification with the organisation (4.40) and person-organisation values alignment (4.65) which were both regarded positively. Work intensity is reported as high (4.90) and psychological detachment is on the lower scale (3.57) compared to some other more positive measures. There was clear evidence of low sleep quality amongst officers (2.27). Uncertainty was also high (5.76) however to counter this, there was a demonstrable openness to change (4.67) amongst officers but the actual impact of changes were deemed as high by officers (5.82). Emotional energy overall was deemed positive. Ethical leadership amongst officers was considered high (5.08) which reflected well on immediate supervisors. Overall officers are considered to be engaged (3.97), but there are areas for future focus around perceptions of fairness and organisational support. The results around change and its impact are also reflective of other police services and the significant changes across policing with regard to the impacts of Winsor, budgetary constraints and large scale restructures. There are plans to run another survey on Engagement & Wellbeing over the next months and the PFNI have just completed a survey on Discretionary Effort amongst PSNI officers (results as yet unavailable). The latter survey may likely suggest a cause and effect link between pay and conditions and discretionary effort in the officer role and the results of the survey may be of interest to the PRRB. According to Ian Hesketh in Wellbeing and Engagement in Policing: The Key to Unlocking Discretionary Effort, the hypothesis for discretionary effort is that to perform at the minimum 50

51 standard (i.e. to stay out of trouble ), an employee operates at 35% effort level. 85% is regarded as Optimum performance. If employees were to operate at % continually, then eventually a burnout scenario would result. Discretionary Effort is deemed as the effort in the 50% gap between 35% and 85% and is very much up to the individual as to whether they choose to deliver on the discretionary aspect or not. Various factors directly influence individual discretionary effort:- - Feeling in control over the work undertaken; - Job conditions (working environment, pay and conditions, dealing with difficult customers/clients, risk of physical violence, dull and repetitive work, same work); - Feeling secure in one s job; - Change happens when necessary and not for Changes sake. Assessment of discretionary effort is a useful measure of motivation and morale levels and vice versa; as if these levels are high, then effort and productivity will tend to be at larger levels. Pay and conditions have a link to resultant discretionary effort. However research has long since shown that pay and conditions are not the sole influence on morale and motivation within the workplace and there are many other factors that also impact (social interaction, role purpose, role autonomy leadership). Pay and conditions are deemed to be extrinsic motivating factors for employees. This is where things are put in place in order to motivate people e.g. incentives and promotions. Intrinsic motivating factors can be summarised as when employees are motivated by the job itself, e.g. autonomy, ability to see results from efforts invested. In general, it is considered that whilst extrinsic motivating factors have a strong effect on motivation, they are not generally long lasting in the same manner as intrinsic factors. The assumption being that pay and conditions do have a clear link to motivation, but in the shorter term only and are one of only a number of factors that affect motivation. 51

52 CHAPTER 6: APPENDICES Appendix A Policing Plan Appendix B Strategic Outcomes Appendix C Civil Service Pay Guidance Appendix D Minister of Justice s letter to PRRB Appendix E Chief Secretary to the Treasury s letter to PRRB 52

53 APPENDIX A 53

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77 APPENDIX B 77

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