Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services Pay Data UK — 2025

Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services roles in the UK earn a median of £74,000 per year, equivalent to £32.84 per hour as of 2025. Pay increased 2.7% compared to the previous year. Regionally, pay ranges from £67,500 in Yorkshire and The Humber to £77,500 in London. Pay has risen over the past 4 years.

Labour Market

Employment figures from ONS Annual Population Survey (APS). Counts are estimates; suppressed cells (small samples) are excluded from totals.

Pay by Region

Annual pay for Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services across UK regions. The bar shows the typical pay range (25th–75th percentile); the diamond marks the median.

Source: ONS ASHE. Based on broad UK regions (NUTS1).

How Pay Has Changed Over Time

Annual pay grew by +2.7% from 2024 to 2025.

National average (NUTS1 actuals) based on ONS ASHE April snapshot. Shaded band shows 25th–75th percentile range.

Year-on-Year Pay Change

Annual percentage change in median pay for Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services.

Percentage change from the prior year's April figure.

About Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services

Fire officers plan, organise, direct and co-ordinate the activities and resources of a specific physical or functional area of a statutory or private fire brigade/service and the resources necessary for the protection of property at fires within a salvage corps area. Ambulance officers plan, organise, direct and co-ordinate the resources necessary for the provision of ambulance services. Prison officers (principal officer and above) plan, organise, direct, and co-ordinate the activities and resources necessary for the running of a prison, remand or detention centre. Customs officers plan and direct the work of customs, excise and immigration staff in the monitoring and inspection of goods and persons crossing national borders.

Typical Tasks and Duties

• liaises with other senior officials and/or government departments to determine staffing, financial and other short- and long-term needs
• prepares reports for insurance companies, the Home Office, Scottish Home and Health Department, and other bodies as necessary
• advises on the recruitment, training and monitoring of staff
• fire officers plan, direct and co-ordinate an operational plan for one or more fire stations, attend fires and other emergencies to minimise danger to property and people, arrange for the salvaging of goods, immediate temporary repairs and security measures for fire damaged premises as necessary
• ambulance officers plan, organise, direct and co-ordinate the activities of ambulance personnel and control room assistants, for the provision of ambulance services for emergency and non-emergency cases
• prison officers interview prisoners on arrival and discharge/departure, receive reports on disciplinary problems and decide on appropriate action, make periodic checks on internal and external security, and provide care and support to prisoners in custody
• revenue and customs, excise and immigration officers advise on the interpretation of regulations concerning taxes, duties and immigration requirements and enforce these regulations through monitoring of premises, examining goods entering the country to ensure correct duty is paid and establishing that passengers have the necessary authorisation for crossing national borders

Entry Routes and Qualifications

The position of senior fire officer is achieved by internal promotion. Entry to senior positions within the prison service and revenue and customs is either by internal promotion or by open competition; both organisations operate accelerated promotion schemes available to internal and external applicants. Entry to the prison and fire services are subject to age restrictions, and both the prison service and revenue and customs impose nationality conditions. Entry to senior positions within the ambulance service is largely by internal promotion from supervisory roles.

Related Occupations

Salary data is sourced from official UK pay datasets and updated periodically.