Hampshire police chief constable Olivia Pinkney takes salary cut - but pay package hits £248,000

It comes as details published in a document reveal Hampshire Constabulary is confident in weathering the financial storm of Covid-19.

The force's top six officers shared a combined pay package worth £982,000, the 2019/20 draft accounts show.

They reveal Mrs Pinkney was paid a £193,606 salary in 2018/19 but this has now gone down to £189,685.

Payments including a £57,178 pension contribution and £1,353 expenses take her pay package to £248,216. The year before her overall pay was far lower, at £229,908.

When Mrs Pinkney took up the job she was paid £147,854 in the 2016/17 financial year.

Meanwhile, reports the force is at risk due to coronavirus pressures on policing appear to be unfounded.

Accounts published said extra costs have been seen but the force has enough reserves in place so as not to be in dire straits.

The accounts said: ‘In comparative terms, whilst policing has been impacted by Covid-19, the financial impact thus far has been limited compared with many other public sector bodies.

In Hampshire, the (chief finance officers) of both the (police and crime commissioner) and the constabulary have reviewed the impact of Covid-19 to date, and also the potential impact in the medium term, and have drawn the conclusion that whilst additional costs have been incurred, the overall financial risks presented by Covid-19 are not proving to be significant, and can be managed within the overall resources available including if necessary from reserves.

‘The CFOs are content that the PCC and Constabulary will continue to operate on a going concern basis for the foreseeable future.’

The annual governance statement added: ‘There has been no adverse impact on policing services as staffing levels have remained high and overall demand is down so the operational position is sustainable.’

The report also further details problems with 101 calls. They were particularly hit during summer last year, with some callers unable to get through.

The report added: ‘Changes were made, including dissuading internal staff and partners from using the 101 phone line as a switchboard to access police personnel.’

The over-budget £39m contact management platform still ‘needs to be embedded and the business benefits delivered in order to ensure continuous improvement,’ the report said.

As reported, the system has rare problems handling 999 calls as they get lost between call handlers and the control room.