The TaxPayers’ Alliance today reveals that, on average, 9 per cent of each Police Authority’s budget is spent on the Chief Executive’s salary and pension – including an average salary of £90,000 – and members’ allowances cost over £10 million in 2009/10.

Click here to read the full report including a full breakdown of local Police Authorities

Click here to read the full press release

The Government plans to replace the current Police Authority structure with local elected Commissioners. They would set targets for forces and control their own budgets. Some have claimed that this change will be expensive but it is important to look at the context and the fact that there are already significant costs with the current arrangements.

The key findings of this research are:

• In 2009-10, the total bill for members’ allowances was over £10 million, with an average payment to members of £14,100
  
• In 2009-10, the average salary for a Police Authority Chief Executive was £90,000;with pension payments, this increases to nearly £103,000
  
• Police Authority budgets averaged £1.7 million in 2009-10
• On average, 9 per cent of an Authority’s budget was spent on the salary and
  pension of the Chief Executive
• The average number of staff at a Police Authority was 13 in 2009-10
• Police Authorities paid £1.3 million in subscriptions to the Association of Police Authorities in 2009

The TaxPayers’ Alliance today reveals that, on average, 9 per cent of each Police Authority’s budget is spent on the Chief Executive’s salary and pension – including an average salary of £90,000 – and members’ allowances cost over £10 million in 2009/10.

Click here to read the full report including a full breakdown of local Police Authorities

Click here to read the full press release

The Government plans to replace the current Police Authority structure with local elected Commissioners. They would set targets for forces and control their own budgets. Some have claimed that this change will be expensive but it is important to look at the context and the fact that there are already significant costs with the current arrangements.

The key findings of this research are:

• In 2009-10, the total bill for members’ allowances was over £10 million, with an average payment to members of £14,100
  
• In 2009-10, the average salary for a Police Authority Chief Executive was £90,000;with pension payments, this increases to nearly £103,000
  
• Police Authority budgets averaged £1.7 million in 2009-10
• On average, 9 per cent of an Authority’s budget was spent on the salary and
  pension of the Chief Executive
• The average number of staff at a Police Authority was 13 in 2009-10
• Police Authorities paid £1.3 million in subscriptions to the Association of Police Authorities in 2009

Good behaviour or not, the notion that taxpayers ought to pay for premium TV in prisons is absolute insanity. The fact that these prisoners assert a refusal to do so as a ‘violation of human rights‘ confirms the notion that perhaps they should watch less sport, and spend more time reading up on the world around them.

Prisoners should be reminded that their time in jail is not about luxury at the taxpayers’ expense, but reflection and rehabilitation. At a time when most households are looking for savings, there are no doubt many law-abiding families whose budgets do not stretch to premium sports packages (mine certainly does not). What then makes prisoners think they should get it at taxpayers’ expense?

And if paying for Sky wasn’t enough, if this ludicrous request makes its way to court it will be taxpayers who foot the legal bills too. I am all behind people sticking up for genuine human rights, but to say Sky TV falls into that  category is twisting the definition beyond all recognition.

According to Wales Online, the cost of a Sky Sports One package in a prison costs approximately £100 per month already - that’s £1,200 per year for one prison. The full Sky Sports package would cost an extra £78 per month, bringing the total to about £2,100 a year for each facility!

Clearly prisoners are getting too comfortable with their lives inside and have lost sight of what the purpose of jail time is to begin with if they think a Sky subscription is a right worth fighting for. Conservative MP David Davies has echoed similar sentiments in the media this week, claiming “it beggars belief they are complaining about this…”

Beggars belief indeed! These Welsh prisoners should quit their belly aching and consider themselves lucky to have TV privileges at all. The focus should be on more constructive activities that use inmates’ time to educate them or teach them a new skill that will be useful to them once they are released (charities like Fine Cell Work offer excellent opportunities for prisoners to learn). Sitting in a cell watching the footie at taxpayers’ expense ticks none of these boxes.

Emma Boon also discussed this on BBC Radio Humberside yesterday, you can listen to the interview below: