Police budgets and hence salaries are not dictated by “bean-counters” but by politicians as are all public sector salaries. Therefore, public sector and private sector salaries are not comparable.
The short term nature of public spending means that the “honeymoon period” will be about half as long as a term of office! Savings made in Year 1 by Direct Employment will, ipso facto, be forgotten about by Year 4 when the squeeze on budgets becomes greater. Rises in Council Tax are answerable to the electorate; rises in private sector salaries are answerable to shareholders only.
Public Sector salaries are used by the Chancellor as a tool for keeping down inflation. Inflation too high; public sector salary rises 2% for example when the rest of the private sector workforce can enjoy say, 5%.
As for ASUs not being able to fill posts, I suspect it’s not just a matter of salary but a genuine shortage of qualified people. I doubt whether there are any suitably qualified and experienced pilots on the dole at the moment, therefore anyone who may be suitable for the role would have to leave another job. This would probably involve relocation for some which may not be feasible for some due to other commitments.
So, the other approach to filling pilot vacancies should come from training those with less experience which is what other professions do!
Cheers
Whirls
PS- Bertie, you’ve spelt bean counters incorrectly, it should be spelt “those wonderful, lovely people in the Finance Department”.