First Minister, the Tory UK Government recently made a derisory deviation from their ideological obsession with austerity when they announced police officers would get a 1 per cent bonus funded from existing budgets. Steve White, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales said that this announcement would leave many officers angry and deflated.

‘We were not greedy in what we asked for’,

Mr White added. Officers have been taking home about 15 per cent less than they were seven years ago. The federation has asked for a mere 2.8 per cent increase to basic pay. Would the First Minister call on the Tory UK Government and their supporters in this very Chamber to pay police officers a decent salary so as to ensure new recruits are not turned off serving their communities as police officers?