Negotiating rights for police officers

That this House notes that pay and conditions for police officers in England and Wales are subject to recommendations by the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) and that its letter of remit each year is drafted by the Home Office, directing it to look at specific areas of pay and conditions and within established parameters; further notes that, while the PRRB can step outside of the areas and limits within this letter, its recommendations need approval by the Secretary of State for the Home Department; believes these restrictions at both the beginning and end of the process remove any true independence from the PRRB; also notes that PRRB recommendations are not binding and there is no right of appeal or arbitration; notes that police officers have no right to take industrial action and that, before the PRRB was introduced in 2014, police pay and conditions were resolved through a Police Negotiating Board and subject to binding arbitration, which is still used in Scotland; further believes that the PRRB process should be reviewed to allow for consultation and collective bargaining, with a system of binding arbitration introduced; insists that this is not asking for a blank cheque or for agreement to unreasonable demands but rather for a compensatory mechanism for the lack of any ability to take industrial action; and calls on the Government to enter into formal negotiations with the Police Federation of England and Wales with a view to reforming the current PRRB system to include binding arbitration.