West Midlands Police retirement policy defended by commissioner Bob Jones
A controversial policy which forced senior police officers to retire at a cost of £97.4 million in pension payouts has been defended as 'vital' by the West Midlands police and crime commissioner.
Commissioner Bob Jones said there was no other way the force could have saved significant sums than by shedding senior officers using the A19 regulation, which forcibly retired officers with 30 years' service.
He made his comments after the Express & Star revealed pension lump sum payouts for the 591 officers to leave the West Midlands force since December 2010 cost £71.3m. That is on top of £12.4m being paid out annually in pensions to those officers.The force also shelled out a further £78,511 on legal counsel for contested cases. In Staffordshire, the combined lump sums for 78 officers was £12m, while a further £1.7m will be paid out to those officers every year towards their pensions. Staffordshire began using the regulation on November 30, 2011, and it was ended on January 1.
The move allowed the West Midlands force to save £37m off its wage bill by losing the senior officers while Staffordshire saved £4.8m.
Mr Jones said the money didn't come from the West Midlands Police budget but the national Police Pensions Fund.
He added: "Use of the A19 regulation, where officers achieving the full pension entitlement can be asked to leave, is not a good use of public money."
But he added it was vital to West Midlands Police balancing its budget.
