Colonel NEWMANasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what is the average percentage increase to his salary enjoyed at the present moment by the Civil servant under the war bonus system; is it intended to continue to make his salary contingent on the cost of living; and can he give any total figure which represents the present cost to the taxpayer of the war bonus?
2038W
§ Mr. BALDWINThe Civil Service cost of living bonus represents at the present moment a percentage increase on basic salary varying from 165 per cent. in the case of officers and employés whose basic salary or wage does not exceed £91 5s. a year, or 35s. a week, to about 17 per cent. in the case of the head of a Department. The bonus will continue to fluctuate automatically with variations in the cost of living,e.g., the next revision of bonus will be due on 1st September, 1921, and will be based on the average cost of living figure for the six months preceding that date. The total cost of bonus approximates at the moment to something between £37,000,000 and £38,000,000 a year, but in view of the probable reduction in bonus on the occasion of the next half-yearly revision, it is estimated that the cost of bonus for the whole of the next financial year will be considerably less than this amount.