Warrington's NHS workers earn eight times less than bosses

According to figures sourced from the Home Office, the Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary - Mark Roberts - is paid a salary in the region of £175,420.

Prospects.ac highlight that salaries for new members of the police force begin at £21,402 - meaning that Ch. Const. Roberts is paid more than eight times more than officers on the streets.

Dep. Ch. Const. Mark Armitt was paid over 6.5 times more than new members of Cheshire's police force (Image: Cheshire Police)

Deputy Chief Constables of medium-sized forces, such as Cheshire Constabulary, are paid in the region of £139,660 - meaning that Dep. Ch. Const. Chris Armitt takes home over 6.5 times as much as new officers.

Assistant Chief Constables of forces like Cheshire are paid a salary of approximately £112,410.

Salaries for these positions are approximate, due to the Home Office confirming only the maximum and minimum salaries for roles, rather than the exact figures.

When asked for comment, Cheshire Constabulary referred the Warrington Guardian to the Home Office, due to the salaries of police chiefs being set at a national level.

The Home Office was asked: "Given the cost-of-living crisis, and police funding coming from the taxpayer, when people are struggling to afford to heat their homes and feed their children, how can the force justify paying its Chief Constables so much more than the residents that they are serving?"

In response, a Home Office spokesperson said: "The Home Secretary takes advice on Chief Police officer pay from the Senior Salaries Review Body or Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB).

“The Government this year announced an increase to police officer pay across the board, with the highest uplift to those on the lowest pay points.”  

The spokesperson added: "The Government announced that it had accepted the recommendations of the PRRB in full, awarding a consolidated increase of £1,900 to all police officer pay points for all ranks from September 2022, equivalent to five per cent overall.

"It is targeted at those on the lowest pay points to provide an uplift of up to 8.8 per cent, and between 0.6-1.8 per cent for those on the highest pay points."

The Home Office said: The Home Secretary [Suella Braverman MP] takes advice on Chief Police officer pay from the Senior Salaries Review Body. (Image: Parliament UK)

There is a similar picture in the NHS in the region, too, with the Chief Clinical Officer for NHS Warrington Clinical Commissioning Group (which was reformed this year) being paid a salary of around £172,500 for his roles in Warrington and Halton.

Dr Andrew Davies was paid 8.3 times above the entry-level NHS wage, which was £20,758 per year in 2021/22, according to NHSPay.co.uk.

Dr David Cooper was the Chief Finance Officer for NHS Warrington CCG, as well as being in a similar role for NHS Halton CCG - he was paid a salary of between £120-125,000 for the 2021/22 financial year.

That is 5.9 times higher than the salaries that entry-level (Band 2) NHS frontline workers were paid at the same time.

The highest-paid member of nursing staff in Warrington in 2021/22 was the Chief Nurse, Michelle Creed.

Ms Creed was paid a salary of between £110-115,000 for her role as Chief Nurse in NHS Warrington and NHS Halton CCGs.

In her final year of employment in the NHS, Ms Creed was paid a salary of more than £100,000 for her role as Chief Nurse in Warrington and Halton CCGs (Image: Newsquest)

Having retired in March 2022, Ms Creed completed more than 40 years of service in the NHS, and was paid expenses and a pension that meant (pre-tax) she took home in the region of £295-300,000.

For her role as Chief Nurse, Ms Creed was paid more than 5.4 times as much as Band 2 NHS workers.

A spokesperson for NHS Cheshire and Merseyside said: "NHS Warrington Clinical Commissioning Group, which transitioned to NHS Cheshire and Merseyside in July 2022, set these salaries in line with the NHS Commissioning Board remuneration guidance for Chief Officers and Chief Finance Officers.

"This guidance is used by NHS organisations across the country for senior leadership roles and is not unique to Warrington."