Hampshire Police Federation vows to fight for South East Allowance increase

HAMPSHIRE Police Federation has vowed to fight on for an increase to the South East Allowance. 

Officers were awarded an increase of £700, which brings the Allowance to £1,800 – but it could be £2,000 – which has left officers asking why they didn’t get the full amount. 

Zoë Wakefield, Federation Chair, said: “Obviously officers are very grateful for the extra £700. But the PCC said she cannot afford the full £2,000, which would have come to £500,000 in total. She said the only way she could afford it would have been if she reduced the number of police officers or PCSOs.” 

Donna Jones has assured that she will increase the amount to its maximum as soon as she could afford to do so, Zoë added, but said this would still be hard for officers to stomach, as they work side-by-side with officers in forces like Thames Valley who get more. 

She said: “If it wasn’t a sufficient increase, we would have been going out all guns blazing, criticising the PCC. But she’s increased it by £700 and we have to be grateful for that – and the majority of officers are grateful for that. But it is a little bit frustrating. 

“So our work on this is still not done as a Federation, and we need to continue to strive to ensure we’ve gone up to the maximum amount as soon as possible.”