NORTHUMBRIA Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness is calling for fairer pay for police staff.

Ms McGuinness has written to the Home Secretary Priti Patel this week asking her to reopen pay negotiations "as a matter of urgency".

From September 1, all police officers in England and Wales will be given an extra £1,900, equivalent to a 5 per cent pay rise overall.

Prior to this announcement in July, police staff - such as 999 call handlers - were offered a 2.1 per cent pay rise.

While she welcomes the pay rise for police officers, Ms McGuinness said "at any time, such a pay difference would be hard for staff to accept, but at a time of rising inflation and a cost of living crisis, the pay division is immoral."

She said: "A fair pay offer, fully funded by the Home Office, is the very least our police staff deserve. The Home Secretary needs to reopen pay negotiations as a matter of urgency.

"Both sides of the policing workforce commit to keep us safe and fighting crime, both are struggling with rising bills and both sides deserve to be treated fairly."

Ms McGuinness added: “Police support staff are vital in ensuring the service runs efficiently and effectively. They make up more than a third of the workforce and are the people that answer the 999 calls, the people who support and safeguard vulnerable victims and the people that fulfil so many other vital and equally challenging roles.

“We need to stand up for our staff. Our officers can’t do the job without the staff supporting them – it’s as simple as that and the sooner Government accepts this and pays staff fairly, the better.”

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “We are grateful to police officers and staff who work tirelessly to keep our streets safe and put criminals behind bars which is why we are providing up to £16.9 billion in 2022/23, including for our 20,000 additional officers.

“While police officer pay is set nationally and is reviewed annually by the independent Police Remuneration Review Body, the government has no statutory role in determining police staff pay and conditions of service, which are agreed locally by employers in consultation with trade unions.”