Scottish Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, has said the cuts to the starting police salary wouldn’t be introduced in Scotland

Home Secretary Theresa May has ratified a volley of contentious reforms, which signifies that the starting pay for police officers in England and Wales is to be trimmed. The police officers’ starting salary will now be £19,000, which is £4000 lesser than the previous police starting salary. Theresa May has voiced that she is going ahead with the drastic revamp, recommended by civilian lawyer Tom Winsor, in 2012. The Police Federation has, however, expressed its disappointment because of the ratification of these reforms.

The proposals of Tom Winsor, regarding the police starting salary, infuriated police officers in 2012. Nonetheless, most of Tom Winsor’s recommendations concerning the police starting pay have been embraced by the Coalition. Winsor is an ex-rail regulator turned police watchdog, who headed the review of the existing police pay conditions.

The Home Secretary has remarked that the incumbent starting police pay conditions were formulated more than three decades back. Thus, as per her, the Coalition requested Tom Winsor to implement an independent review of the police starting pay.

Theresa May’s comments on the starting police salary emerged in the form of a written ministerial statement. She remarked that these police reforms were part of a broader programme to modernize police pay/conditions so that they are just to the police officers and taxpayers.

The Home Secretary has elucidated that the police officers deserve pay and workforce arrangements, which acknowledge the important role that they perform in tackling crime and in maintaining the public safety. Theresa May has asserted that the Coalition’s police reform programme is working as the crime rate is dipping and public confidence is high. Meanwhile, the Scottish Justice Ministry has tweeted that the Home Office cuts to police starting pay would not be imposed in Scotland.

Tom Winsor’s reform proposals have decreased the pay scales from 10 to 7, signifying that the police officers can touch the higher pay grade of £36,000 more swiftly. MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, has remarked that this is the incorrect time to cut the starting police salary as the police force’s morale was extremely low.