Good evening folks, Once again our votes are in demand. On Thursday May 5th 2016 the following elections will be taking place: National Assembly for Wales Scottish Parliament Police and Crime Commissioners throughout England and Wales Mayor of London and London Assembly The run up to these elections is an ideal opportunity for us to contact many of the candidates involved in order to let them know of or reacquaint them with our campaign. Please contact: * Police and Crime Commissioner candidates in your force area. Follow this link for a list of candidates for Police and Crime Commissioner 2016: http://www.police-foundation.org.uk/uploads/holding/projects/pcc_candidates_2016.pdf * Candidates planning to stand for election to the National Assembly for Wales/Scottish Parliament in the constituency where you live. * Candidates for Mayor of London and London Assembly if you live within the capital - nominations for candidates close on March 31st. Candidates include: Zac Goldsmith – Conservatives Sadiq Khan – Labour Sian Berry – Greens Caroline Pidgeon – Lib Dems Peter Whittle – UKIP Make appointments to meet with candidates in person wherever possible as they will then view you as an individual and not just a reference on an email. This approach has paid great dividends in the past – who can forget the success of Amanda’s meeting with David Cameron? In addition to asking them if they would support our campaign should they be elected – these are the main points that we need to make regarding the amendments made to the 1987 Police Pension Scheme that came into force on January 18th 2016: In common with the changes adopted in England and Wales - the Scottish Government using their devolved powers - decided to provide lifetime awards for the survivors of police officers who were members of the 1987 pension scheme and were killed in the line of duty. Scotland also decided to reinstate the pensions of survivors of officers killed on duty - that had remarried or moved in with a partner. Disappointingly Scotland does not share the view of the PFEW and the Northern Ireland Assembly - that the changes are ‘cost neutral’, and this is preventing them from granting all of their survivors lifelong pensions and parity with the RUC widows in Northern Ireland. The Home Office maintains the following stance: “In keeping with the policy applied as part of the Armed Forces’ changes announced in 2014, any pensions already surrendered before 1 April 2015 will not be reinstated.” They make no mention of the fact that the Armed Forces’ changes announced in 2014 - include all remaining survivors that have not remarried or moved in with a partner, this is in stark contrast to the minimal changes granted to us thus far. The government has repeatedly stated that it recognises, “…..the high risk of harm that police officers face as an everyday part of their jobs…….. It is this unique characteristic that sets police officers and fire-fighters apart from other parts of the public sector.” At other times they have also stated that armed forces personnel are unique – we are suggesting therefore that a ‘Risk Concession’ be granted to the survivors of police officers, firefighters and members of the armed forces in order to grant us parity with RUC widows in Northern Ireland, and ring fence us from the rest of the public service sector. Please email me for briefing documents regarding our campaign to include with your letters/emails, and email to me copies of all correspondence sent and received: CathrynHall@outlook.com The response to Julie Butterworth’s generous offer has been encouraging and we now have supporters in 21 force areas willing to share their stories in the media. Here is the link for those that have not received that update: https://www.change.org/p/theresa-may-mp-grant-police-widows-pensions-for-life-don-t-make-them-choose-between-future-happiness-and-pensions/u/15326614 We still need survivors in Yorkshire and Scotland to share their stories, and survivors from all force areas (that have not benefitted from the current round of changes) are still welcome to get in touch with Julie. Please email me for Julie’s contact details if you wish to volunteer. In the run up to the general election the flow of communications between you and your MPs was relentless, and as a result of that pressure amendments have been made to the 1987 Police Pension Regulations. The elections in May present us with another opportunity to make our voices heard and I know that you can be relied upon to play your part. You are the most awesome team a girl could wish for – thank you. Cathryn