MPA to pilot 30 + scheme announced by Home Office

115/02
12 November 2002

The MPA has welcomed the Home Office’s announcement today that the Met will be one of five police services to pilot the 30+ Scheme. The Scheme will mean that officers who have completed 30 years service can be retained, therefore ensuring their much needed skills and experience can be kept in the Met.

Toby Harris, Chair of the MPA said:

“The main objectives are to help ease recruitment shortfalls, smooth recruitment bulges as well as making sure we retain officers’ valuable experience and skills in our police service.

"MPA has long been pressing for much more flexibility in police employment . It is quite wrong to see experience, skills and enthusiasm draining unnecessarily from the Met because of rigid and old fashioned employment restrictions.

“We will want to see the Scheme used to retain the skills of, for example, front line officers and detectives. Although it will be Treasury funded, it is too early to estimate long term costs of the scheme.

“This Scheme is just one of the opportunities provided in the Police Negotiating Board agreement. It demonstrates a real commitment to invest in and support the police service, giving the Met the flexibility it needs to deliver a first class service to the communities of London.”

The main points of the 30+ Scheme are:

• Officers will have to apply for selection if they wish to participate
• A tax free lump will be payable on attaining 30 years service
• Officers will be re-engaged at former pay level
• Pension abatement will be lifted to allow for any replacement allowances lost on retirement to be made good
• Access to Special Priority Payments will be on the same basis as other officers
• Participants will not be able to re-join the Police Pension Scheme, but will be able to purchase additional benefits by taking out a personal pension

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