Huge rise for chief constable ahead of pay freeze

That is four times the 2.6 per cent wage increase imposed on police last September and comes ahead of the two-year pay freeze for all public sector workers.

New figures reveal South Yorkshire Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes saw his pay package, including some backdated bonus and pension costs, rise by slightly more than 40,000, up by more than 20 per cent on his previous year's 189,000.

Numbers of police staff earning more than 50,000 have also soared in the region, with more than 1,300 enjoying that level of income last year in the four Yorkshire forces. Those with a wage of more than 100,000, excluding pension benefits, rose by 50 per cent from 13 to 19.

West Yorkshire Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison declined to take a bonus last year and saw his pay fall by 10,000 as he suggested a pay freeze to affect high public sector earners.

However, the costs of employing his force's senior command team still went up by around nine per cent, to more than 1.36m.

South Yorkshire Police said Mr Hughes's pay included 15,000 in a delayed bonus from the previous year and Charles Perryman, chairman of South Yorkshire Police Authority, said: "The bonuses paid to senior officers are reflected in the excellent performance of South Yorkshire Police, with crime at its lowest level for more than 19 years.

"Their continued support and leadership is vital to ensuring the delivery of an efficient and effective police. In order to attract the best people for the job, we need to provide the appropriate salaries.

"However, the performance of the police, as well as costs associated with the delivery and management of it, are constantly under review by the Police Authority to guarantee value for money."

South Yorkshire's senior command team's overall pay costs appear low compared with its substantially smaller neighbour, Humberside, where the total bill was more than 1m last year.

Details of the pay increases emerged days after the forces revealed they had employed consultants to examine ways of saving money by regionalising some services. Among the areas to be examined is the idea of regional control centres, meaning callers dialling for help could potentially end up speaking to an operator many miles away, with limited local knowledge.

All police authorities follow a nationally agreed formula for annual pay rises, which are set by an outside body.

West Yorkshire Police Authority said all police received the same 2.6 per cent pay rise last year and any costs above that would include "incremental progression" and bonuses under a system agreed six years ago.

In North Yorkshire, spending increased last year partly because posts left vacant by retirements in the previous year had been filled. North Yorkshire Police Authority had also decided to make lower bonus payments to the chief constable and his deputy.

Humberside Police said the number of officers recorded as earning more than 50,000 was artificially low in the 2008/09 tax year because overtime was not included in the figures. In fact, overtime pay had pushed another 128 staff through the 50,000 barrier in 2008/09 than officially recorded.

Last year the deputy chief's pay had been inflated because he had been acting chief for part of the year, attracting more pay.

A spokesperson for Humberside Police Authority said the make-up of the management structures in each force differed, which made direct comparisons impossible.

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