North Wales chief constable to retire for one day for pension

North Wales Police Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman has been granted permission to retire for a single day to safeguard her pension entitlements under a national “retire and rehire” scheme.

Chief Constable Blakeman, who earns £170,000 annually, requested approval from Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin to participate in the scheme designed to “retain skills, knowledge and experience of police officers at all levels”.

The arrangement allows her to formally retire as an officer before being reappointed to the same rank the following day. The one-day break in service on 16 January 2026 ensures her “pension entitlement can be abated without any impact on entitlement to lump sum or monthly payments”.

A report confirmed the break would “not create any additional cost to the taxpayer”. At a North Wales Police and Crime Panel meeting on Monday (15 December), the panel voted unanimously behind closed doors to support the move.

Chief Constable Blakeman explained her decision: “I’m making this application understanding and knowing that I could retire but wanting to carry on with my role here as Chief Constable in North Wales, not only because of the fact we have work to do and things to achieve still but also in the changing landscape that we are seeing across policing at the moment.

“Only in the past week or so we’ve seen press articles about the changes of the sizes and scales of forces across the country, and I think it is really important we have an experienced leader at the helm of North Wales Police so that we are able to put the voice of our communities forward as those deliberations are taking place.”

She added: “I want to ensure that we have the very best for our communities here in North Wales and that we ensure they get the very best police service that we can deliver.”

Mr Dunbobbin stated the retire and rehire scheme was open to all police officers including chief constables and was designed to retain the skills of officers.

He added: “It must be noted that the Chief Constable’s request comes at a time of greater reform within policing in the UK and at a time of tremendous uncertainty. I believe consistency and continuity of leadership will be of great benefit to the force.”

During the one-day break, Deputy Chief Constable will serve as acting Chief Constable to ensure legislative requirements are met.

Ms Blakeman’s reappointment will be three years, the maximum period allowed for a second fixed-term agreement.