Hammond eases public sector pay cap, but the squeeze goes on

The chancellor insisted police and prison officers’ rises will come from existing budgets – and they are well below inflationPhilip Hammond’s re-emergence as a power in the cabinet can be seen clearly as the battle rages inside government over the thorny question of public sector pay.There may have been a green light from No 10 to rip up the current cap and give the police and prison officers a 1% rise plus a 1% bonus for 2017-18, but the Treasury has made sure the bonus is not