May scraps public funding for Police Federation

22 May 14
Home Secretary Theresa May has withdrawn government funding from the Police Federation, saying the taxpayer should not provide money to the body when it has reserves worth tens of millions

By Richard Johnstone | 22 May 2014

Home Secretary Theresa May has withdrawn government funding from the Police Federation, saying the taxpayer should not provide money to the body when it has reserves worth tens of millions.

Speaking to the federation’s annual conference in Bournemouth yesterday, May also warned its members that the government may legislate to reform the under-fire body if it does not do so itself.

Following a series of scandals, including the sacking of officers in the so-called Plebgate affair that led to the resignation of then chief whip Andrew Mitchell, May said the model of policing was at risk without change.

This included the need to change the Police Federation following accusations of bullying, a lack of transparency in its accounts, and questionable campaign tactics.

A review of its operations by former senior civil servant Sir David Normington had set out plans for change from top to bottom, she said, and more than 90% of the federation’s members backed reforms.

In a report commissioned by the federation and published in January, Normington called for a new ethics, standards and performance process for federation representatives and the publication of all accounts. A new independent reference group should be created to evaluate how the body is meeting its public interest obligations, and the divisive committees for each rank of officer should be scrapped. He also called for an initial 25% reduction in member subscriptions for at least one year, as it was estimated the federation had centrally held reserves of £29.5m, while local branches had around £35m.

May said the review’s recommendations must be implemented.

‘I do not want to have to impose change on you, because I want you to show the public that you want to change. I want you to show them that you have the best interests of the police and of the public at heart. 

‘But make no mistake. If you do not make significant progress towards the implementation of the Normington reforms, if the federation does not start to turn itself around, you must not be under the impression that the government will let things remain as they are. The federation was created by an Act of Parliament and it can be reformed by an Act of Parliament.’

May announced that cutting government funding to the organisation would allow additional money to accelerate the introduction of Police First, a new scheme designed to attract the brightest young university graduates into the police, based on the Teach First programme. 

It had already been announced that spending would be cut from £320,000 to £190,000 per year, but Home Office support will stop in August, May said. 

‘It is not acceptable that when the federation is sitting on vast reserves worth tens of millions of pounds, it is in receipt of public funds to pay for the salaries and expenses of the chairman, general secretary and treasurer,’ she said.

Police Federation chair Steve Williams said May’s announcement was unexpected.

‘We must not lose sight of the fact the federation instigated the independent review itself and it is now down to the Police Federation to bring about the necessary reforms.

‘In all honesty the comments made by the home secretary came as a total surprise and I was given no indication of what was going to be said. We have already indicated we are an organisation that is willing to change and it is for us to make the key decisions around reform over the next few days.’


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