The Home Office paid almost £500m to police forces to plug a gap in their pension funds last year, more than double the amount it paid just two years ago.
Figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats in a parliamentary question reveal that an average of 8% of Home Office grants to police forces in England and Wales is spent on meeting pension costs that the police forces themselves cannot meet.
The figures show that:
· In 2006-07 the Home Office top up grant was £201m, an average of 4% of grants to police forces
· In 2007-08 this increased to £340m, an average of 6% of grants to police forces
· Last year, 2008-09, the payment for pensions was £482m or 8% of the total grants. This is a 140% increase in two years.
Heather Kidd said “We have paid twice for police pensions in the last three years – first through council tax and then through income tax too. This top up tax has shot up from £201 million in 2006-07 to £482million last year – that’s an extra £20 for each tax paying family in Britain. Getting a grip on ballooning public sector pension costs will be the acid test of any government’s credibility and the Government’s shaky credit rating over the next five years.”
“You don’t slash and burn when Britain’s in deep recession but you must start closing our unfair public -private pensions divide and stop turning a blind eye to the spiralling pension cost of delivering essential public services. Government must establish a Turner-style, independent pension commission to review public sector pension costs to make them fair and affordable for public and private sector workers.”