Good evening one and all, From communications received from supporters I now have a clearer picture of who is likely to benefit from the changes commencing from April 1st in England and Wales and October 1st in Scotland. “These changes will not apply to all survivors of those in the 1987 Police Pension Scheme. Instead, recognising the high risk of harm that police officers face as an everyday part of their jobs, the policy will only apply to widows, widowers and surviving civil partners of officers who die or died as a result of an injury received in the course of their duty. The proposed changes will be limited to those who would qualify for a special of augmented award under Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006.” Definitions of special and augmented awards: “Adult survivor’s special award 13.—(1) This regulation applies to a surviving spouse or surviving civil partner (“an adult survivor”) of a member of a police force who dies or has died as the result of an injury received without his own default in the execution of his duty (“the deceased officer”). Adult survivor’s augmented award 14.—(1) This regulation applies, subject to regulation 15, to an adult survivor of a member of a police force whose death is the result of an injury received without his own default in the execution of his duty where one of the following conditions is satisfied, namely that — (a) he was attacked by a person or persons in a manner which was intrinsically likely to cause death and death ensued as a result of the attack, or (b) the injury was received in the course of duties performed for the immediate purpose of effecting an arrest or of preventing an escape or rescue from legal custody, or (c) the injury was received in the course of duties performed— (i) for the immediate purpose of saving the life of another person or of preventing loss of human life, and (ii) in circumstances in which there was an intrinsic likelihood of his receiving a fatal injury, or (d) the police authority are of the opinion that one of the preceding conditions may be satisfied and that this regulation should apply, or (e) the police authority are of the opinion that the injury was received otherwise than as aforesaid but in the course of duties performed in such circumstances that it would be inequitable if there were not payable in respect of him such an award as would have been payable had one of the conditions specified in sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) been satisfied.” Supporters in England and Scotland whose husbands died travelling to or from duty have had it confirmed that they will benefit from the changes. I was waiting for an answer to my letter to the Prime Minister that I hand delivered during our visit to Downing Street on the 12th October, before writing this update. I received this yesterday from Rt Hon Mike Penning MP: “Dear Mrs Hall, Thank you for your letter dated 5 October to the Prime Minister regarding pension entitlements for police widows. I am replying as the Minister for Policing, Crime and Criminal Justice and Victims. I appreciate that your campaign continues to seek parity with the provisions applied in Northern Ireland however the general positon as set out in the recent correspondence remains unchanged. The police strive to keep us and our families safe, taking risks so we can live peacefully. When an officer falls in the line of duty, their death is a reminder of the very real dangers they face day in, day out, as they put themselves in harm’s way to deal with violent criminals and dangerous situations. You will be aware that the Home Secretary announced in the House of Commons on 12 October that in recognition of the risks faced as an everyday part of policing, the 1987 Police Pension Scheme will be amended to allow widows, widowers and civil partners of police officers who have died on duty who qualify for a survivor pension after 1st April 2015 to continue to receive their survivor’s benefits for life regardless of remarriage, civil partnership or cohabitation in the future. As you are aware, any pensions already surrendered before the implementation date of the changes will not be reinstated. This is in keeping with the policy applied as part of the Armed Forces’ changes announced last year. The Government has a continuing duty to ensure that public service pensions are affordable, sustainable and fair, both for the members of those schemes and for other taxpayers but I believe the arguments for making this change in respect of police officers who died on duty are sufficiently compelling to allow a limited exception in this case. As stated in previous correspondence, successive Governments have been clear that we have a general presumption against making retrospective changes to public service pension schemes and this policy does not change that. This is a specific change for a specific group and the bar for making these changes has been and is set high, given the challenges of doing so. Kind Regards, Mike Penning” As you can see there is no mention of special or augmented pensions here and it provides us with no additional information so I need not have waited so long to send this update. A great deal of effort went into publicising our visit to number 10, and I thought it would be a shame if you were not able to read/hear at least some of the resulting interviews. Some of the radio programmes will be available for the next few days only. In the run up to our visit to Number 10 and indeed on the day itself I was interviewed over the phone by a number of national and local newspapers and radio stations. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/police-widow-pensions-campaign-whiteley-10207551 http://www.gwentpf.org/widows_pension_campaign.html The article below attracted a lot of comments: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3269626/Widows-officers-killed-duty-able-police-pensions-remarry-says-Theresa-May.html#comments http://www.expressandstar.com/business/uk-money/2015/10/05/police-and-fire-service-pension-chang http://www.theguardian.com/uk- news/2015/oct/12/police-widows-visit-downing-street-pension-changee-to-benefit-widows-and-widowers/ Alison Mayle was interviewed by Radio London Forward to 01.54.20: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p033hbpg I was interviewed by BBC Radio WM, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire Forward to 1:48.27: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/b06gpxqg Forward to 0:21.46 http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/p033wgq0 I was also asked to write an ‘op ed’ (that’s a blog to you and me) for ITV online and for the Huffington Post. http://www.itv.com/news/2015-10-09/police-widow-calls-for-pensions-to-be-granted-for-life/ We were due TV coverage on ITV but the journalist thought the subject was, “Too complicated” without the possibility of a follow up, Sky got annoyed because I couldn’t be interviewed at home and as it was a Sunday Alex from PFEW wasn’t available for interview as he was in the middle of a supermarket. The BBC sent a cameraman to film our grand approach to Number 10, but I don’t think it presented a big enough story – had they known that the announcement was to follow a short time later in the House of Commons that may have made a difference. This morning I was contacted by a journalist from the Sunday Times and she wanted to know what our next course of action will be. I am anxious now more than ever, to persuade the most senior members of the police family all the way up to the rank of Chief Constable - to step forward as a group and stand up for its most vulnerable members. The police may not have a political voice but it should be entitled to a moral one in defence of its family members. I think it is also imperative that we emphasise the effects of the 1987 rules on our children, some of whom are too young to speak for themselves. I have made some tentative steps in this regard and will let you know when you are required to spring into action once more. Our success to date has been achieved through your tireless efforts and the relentless barrage of communication between you and the people that matter - I can't thank you enough for your efforts. As always my email for correspondence is CathrynHall@outlook.com Cathryn