Police in Scotland agree to improved 5% pay offer

Police officers in Scotland have agreed to an improved pay offer weeks after rejecting an initial "derisory" offer of £565.

All ranks will get a 5% pay rise, backdated to 1 April, as well as a similar increase in allowances.

It was welcomed by Police Scotland's Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone.

Calum Steele, who represented staff in the negotiations, said it would mitigate cost of living pressures, but not fully overcome them.

The pay rise matches that offered to officers in England in July.

In a letter to officers, Mr Steele, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), described the latest offer as a "substantial improvement" on the initial offer which worked out at 1.4%.

He added: "The staff side has been cognisant throughout this entire process of the importance of securing the best possible settlement for police officers against a backdrop of the most severe economic circumstances in almost 50 years.

"In reaching an agreement, the staff side recognises that whilst this increase in pay will mitigate some of the cost of living pressures faced by police officers, it will not entirely address them."

The initial £565 offer, which was described as "derisory and insulting" was rejected by the SPF in June.

By law, police officers cannot take industrial action.

But members of the SPF, which represents rank-and-file officers, withdrew "all goodwill" later that month.

It meant that the body's 17,500 members, among other things, refused to start shifts early or take radio equipment home when shifts ended.

In a statement on Twitter, the Scottish Police Federation said: "The steadfast commitment of members to take unprecedented action in response to the initial offer... has been instrumental in getting us to this position today.

"Were it not for that commitment, we would never have secured the substantial improvement we have now.

"This has been a long and painful process for our members. Whilst we genuinely believe police officers deserve even more, we believe this agreement is the best that could have been reached in all the prevailing circumstances."

On Tuesday Mr Steele, said the pay talks had been "the toughest round of industrial negotiations in the police since the 1970s".

He told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland: "The fact police officers took the action to get us to this substantially improved position, an additional 3.6% on top of the starting point, is in itself a remarkable achievement by our members."

Mr Steele rejected any suggestions that the fight against crime would suffer if the pay deal contributed to budgets being stretched.

He added: "The notion that that's necessarily going to mean police are going to be giving up on crime I think is a bit far-fetched."

The SPF general secretary also told the programme the years ahead would be "very challenging" for the public sector.

The police negotiating board has been handling the negotiations between the "staff side" - the Scottish Police Federation, the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents and the Scottish Chief Police Officers Staff Association - and the "official side".

Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone said: "Officers work tirelessly every day to keep people safe across the country and it is right that their commitment to public service is recognised and rewarded.

"I am pleased the police negotiating board has reached agreement on this, particularly at a time when officers are concerned about the cost of living crisis and its impact on them and their families."