Following the December monitoring round, the Justice Minister has
confirmed funding for PSNI recruitment and the full recommended
pay uplift for police officers will now be available.
The Department of Justice has been allocated
£11.6million including £7million for PSNI recruitment and
£4.7million for an uplift to police pay.
Minister said: “It is
crucial that the PSNI can recruit and retain highly skilled and
motivated people - and pay plays an important role in achieving
this. I am, therefore, pleased that following my representations,
police officers have been recognised on the same basis as our
health and education colleagues in the December monitoring round,
as a result I am now able to fund this year's police pay uplift
in full.
“This is a welcome step forward and I will now work with
the Chief Constable to get this much-deserved uplift into
officers' pockets as quickly as possible.
“I want to acknowledge the dedication and professionalism
of PSNI officers, who demonstrate the best of policing under
significant pressure. Officers and staff have shown tremendous
resilience in keeping our communities safe in difficult
circumstances, and I am hugely grateful for their service and
commitment.”
The Minister has also welcomed £7million to meet the full
cost of Year 1 of the PSNI's workforce recovery plan.
"I have been absolutely clear that rebuilding policing
capacity is one of my highest priorities and am pleased to have
been able to secure this funding to meet Year 1 of the PSNI's
workforce recovery plan. Looking ahead, policing requires
sustained multi-year funding, to enable the Service to plan,
recruit, train and retain with confidence, and I will continue
advocating for this as part of the 3-year budget setting
process.”
