§ Mr. Forthasked the Prime Minister, if she will make a statement on the reports of the pay review bodies.
§ The Prime Minister[pursuant to her reply, 6 June 1985, col. 194–61]: Report No. 22 of the Top Salaries Review Body, which recommends new salary rates as from 1 April 1985 for senior civil servants, senior officers of the armed forces, and members of the judiciary, is being laid before Parliament as a Command Paper this afternoon. Copies will be available in the Vote Office.
The review body has on this occasion undertaken a comprehensive review not only of the salary levels of the groups concerned but also of the salary structures. It is for this reason that the review body's report has, by agreement with the Government, been delivered rather longer after the date to which the recommendations relate (1 April 1985) than usual. I should like to put on record the Government's gratitude to the chairman and the other members of the review body for the care and thoroughness with which their conclusions and recommendations have been prepared.
For senior civil servants the review body has recommended certain changes in the salary structure with a view to introducing into the pay arrangements at these levels a greater degree of flexibility to take account of differences of performance and of job weight, and of other factors such as, for example, the state of the market for particular appointments. In particular, it has recommended:
- a greater degree of salary differentiation in grade 1 (permanent secretaries) by reference to broad considerations of job weight;
- the introduction of incremental scales, including some discretionary increments to be awarded for high performance, for grades 2 and 3 (deputy and under secretaries and equivalents);
- the consolidation of London weighting into grade 3 pay.
In formulating its recommendations on salary levels for senior civil servants, the review body has taken into consideration such evidence as it has been able to gather on recruitment, retention, motivation and morale, and rewards available at comparable levels of responsibility in other walks of life. It has also taken into account the importance of being able to offer a reasonable career structure, in terms of salary, in order to achieve an adequate supply of people of the right quality to fill the top posts in the public service. Its consideration of these matters has led the review body to recommend a widening of differentials for the senior civil service which would entail substantial increases of remuneration at the top levels, though it would still leave those levels well below the salary levels of people at comparable levels and with broadly comparable responsibilities in the private sector.
Similar considerations have been taken into account in arriving at recommendations for senior members of the armed forces and the judiciary, with broadly similar results. The review body has also recommended certain changes in the salary structure of the judiciary.
221WThe new salary structures and levels recommended by the review body would increase the pay bill in a full year by 12.2 per cent. for senior civil servants, by 17.6 per cent. for senior members of the armed forces and by 16.3 per cent. for the judiciary.
The Government accept the view of the review body that it is of great importance for the health of the public service in this country that it should offer a career pay structure which will attract and retain people of the high quality which that service requires and deserves, and offers to the most able the prospect of being able eventually to attain levels of remuneration which, while not matching the highest levels of remuneration available in the private sector, provide rewards which can be regarded not only by themselves but also by Parliament and the public as fair but not generous in relation to the responsibilities carried.
We accept in principle the review body's recommendations on salary levels. But the amounts involved are so considerable that we feel bound to implement the salary increases recommended for these groups by stages, as has been done on other occasions in the past. Accordingly those concerned, with a very few exceptions, will receive half of the increases recommended, with a minimum of 5 per cent. with effect from 1 July 1985 and the balance with effect from 1 March 1986. It is proposed that London weighting for grade 3 and equivalent in the Civil Service should after appropriate consultation be built into pay. This would mean average increases for the financial year 1985–86 of 5.1 per cent. for senior civil servants, 7.3 per cent. for senior members of the armed forces and 7.1 for the judiciary. The cost of these increases in 1985–86 will be absorbed in existing public expenditure provisions and cash limits. I am circulating a note of the resulting rates of pay as an annex to this answer.
The review body recommends that the permanent secretaries of three Departments—the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Security—should be paid at higher salary rates than other permanent secretaries in charge of
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Senior Public Servants Salaries currently in payment Salaries net 1 July 1985 Salaries net 1 March 1986 Numbers in post at latest available date £ £ £ Senior grades of the higher Civil Service Head of Home Civil Service 51,250 63,125 75,000 1 Permanent Secretary to the Treasury (note 1) 51,250 60,625 70,000 1 Secretary of the Cabinet (note 1) 51,250 60,625 70,000 1 Permanent Secretary 45,500 52,750 60,000 22 Second Permanent Secretary 42,000 48,500 55,000 15 Deputy Secretary on promotion after 1 year in grade (note 2) 36,500 38,325 40,000 126 39,250 42,000 Under Secretary on promotion (note 3) " after 1 year in grade (note 2) after 2 years in grade (note 2) 29,500 30,975 31,000 499 31,000 32,500 31,750 34,000 Senior officers of the Armed Forces Admiral of the Fleet 51,250 63,125 75,000 1 Field Marshal Marshal of the Royal Airforce Departments. The Government do not consider that there is a sufficiently strong case for departing from the long-established position that permanent secretaries in charge of Departments (other than the permanent secretary to the Tresury and the secretary of the Cabinet) are paid at the same rate, and have decided not to implement this recommendation. Accordingly the permanent secretaries of the three Departments concerned will continue to be paid at the same salary levels as other permanent secretaries in charge of Departments.
The review body propose that the system of discretionary increments for high performance recommended for senior civil servants in grades 2 and 3 should be introduced with effect from 1 April 1986. We shall give further consideration to this proposal, and to the arrangements for assessment, appraisal and review, on which such a system will depend, if it is realistically and fairly to reward high performance and to take account of cases in which high performance is not sustained, and I shall make a further statement on this aspect of the review body's recommendations in due course.
In accordance with the principle which was set out in my reply to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Chislehurst (Mr. Sims) on 13 April 1984, the superannuation entitlements of members of the groups in question will continue to be based on levels of salary actually in payment at or in the period before the date of retirement.
Also, the Armed Forces Pay Review Body has submitted to me a supplementary report on the pay of medical and dental officers in the armed forces. It recommends increases of between 4.9 per cent. and 8.4 per cent. according to rank with effect from 1 June 1985. This reflects the awards to civilian doctors and dentists that I announced in the House on 6 June 1985 at column 194–6.
The Government have decided to accept in full the recommendations in the supplementary report on the pay of medical and dental officers. The report has been published as Cmnd. 9568 and copies are available in the Vote Office.
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Salaries currently in payment Salaries net 1 July 1985 Salaries net 1 March 1986 Numbers in post at latest available date £ £ £ Admiral 45,500 52,750 60,000 20 General Air Chief Marshal Vice-Admiral 36,500 39,250 42,000 32 Lieutenant General Air Marshal Rear Admiral 29,500 31,750 34,000 153 Major General Air Vice-Marshal Judiciary Lord Chief Justice 64,000 69,500 75,000 1 Master of the Rolls 58,500 63,750 69,000 13 Lord of Appeal 58,500 63,750 69,000 Lord President of the Court of Session (Scotland) 58,500 63,750 69,000 Lord Chief Justice (Northern Ireland) 57,000 63,000 69,000 President of the Family Division 57,000 61,500 66,000 25 Vice Chancellor 55,500 60,750 66,000 Lord Justice of Appeal 55,500 60,750 66,000 Lord Justice of Appeal (Northern Ireland) 55,500 60,750 66,000 Lord Justice Clerk (Scotland) 55,500 60,750 66,000 High Court Judge 51,250 55,625 60,000 102 Judge of the Court of Session (Scotland) 51,250 55,625 60,000 Puisne Judge (Northern Ireland) 51,250 55,625 60,000 Chairman Scottish Land Court and President Lands Tribunal (Scotland) (note 6) 35,000 39,750 44,500 30 Sheriff Principal (Scotland) 35,000 39,750 44,500 Official Referee (London) 35,000 39,750 44,500 Vice Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster 35,000 39,750 44,500 Senior Circuit Judge 35,000 39,750 44,500 Recorder of Liverpool 35,000 39,750 44,500 Recorder of Manchester 35,000 39,750 44,500 Recorder of Belfast 35,000 39,750 44,500 Chief Social Security Commissioner (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) 36,000 40,250 44,500 President Industrial Tribunals (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) 36,000 40,250 44,500 Judge Advocate General 33,000 38,750 44,500 President Social Security Appeal Tribunals and Medical Appeal Tribunals (England, Wales and Scotland) 33,000 38,750 44,500 Chairman, Criminal Injuries Compensation Board 35,000 39,750 44,500 Circuit Judge 33,000 36,500 40,000 523 Sheriff (Scotland) 33,000 36,500 40,000 County Court Judge (Northern Ireland) 33,000 36,500 40,000 Social Security Commissioner (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) 33,000 36,500 40,000 Chairman, Scottish Land Court 35,000 37,500 40,000 President, Lands Tribunal (England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) 36,000 38,000 40,000 Registrar of Criminal Appeals 33,000 36,500 40,000 Chief Metropolitan Magistrate 33,000 36,500 40,000 Senior and Chief Masters and Registrars of the Supreme Court 33,000 36,500 40,000 Master, Court of Protection 33,000 36,500 40,000 Chairman, Foreign Compensation Commission 31,000 35,500 40,000 Regional Chairman, Industrial Tribunals (England and Wales and Scotland) 31,000 35,500 40,000 Judge Advocate of the Fleet 31,000 35,500 40,000 Vice-Judge Advocate General 31,000 35,500 40,000 President, Value Added Tax Tribunals 36,000 38,000 40,000 President, Immigration Appeal Tribunal 31,000 35,500 40,000 Presiding Special Commissioner of Income Tax 33,000 36,500 40,000 President, Social Security Appeal Tribunals and Medical Appeal Tribunals (Northern Ireland) 31,000 35,500 40,000 Regional Chairman, Social Security Appeal Tribunals and Medical Appeal Tribunals 31,000 35,500 40,000
Salaries currently in payment Salaries net 1 July 1985 Salaries net 1 March 1986 Numbers in post at latest available date £ £ £ Chairman, Industrial Tribunals (England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) 28,500 29,925 30,500 390 Metropolitan Magistrate 28,500 29,925 30,500 Provincial Stipendiary Magistrate 28,500 29,925 30,500 Resident Magistrate (Northern Ireland) 28,500 29,925 30,500 Member, Lands Tribunal (England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) (note 7) 33,000 30,500 30,500 Masters and Registrars of the Supreme Court 28,500 29,925 30,500 Master, Supreme Court (Northern Ireland) 28,500 29,925 30,500 Registrar of Civil Appeals (note 7) 33,000 30,500 30,500 County Court Registrars and District Registrars of the High Court 28,500 29,925 30,500 Circuit Registrar (Northern Ireland) 28,500 29,925 30,500 President, Pensions Appeal Tribunals 28,500 29,925 30,500 Vice-President, Immigration Appeal Tribunals 28,500 29,925 30,500 Vice-President (Scotland) and Chairman Value Added Tax Tribunals 28,500 29,925 30,500 Chairman, Social Security Appeal Tribunals and Medical Appeal Tribunals 28,500 29,925 30,500 Special Commissioner of Income Tax 28,500 29,925 30,500 Notes
1. If not also Head of the Home Civil Service.
2. Deputy and Under Secretaries will be credited with existing seniority.
3. It is proposed that London Weighting for Under Secretaries should be built into basic pay in two stages. Half will be assimilated on 1 July 1985 and the remainder on 1 March 1986 but for the period 1 July 1985 to 1 March 1986 the maximum rate of pay plus London Weighting for Under Secretaries with less than one year in the grade is £31,000.
4. Rates for grades consequential on the salaries of senior grades of the higher Civil Service will be promulgated separately.
5. The salary of the Head of the Diplomatic Service will correspond to those of the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury and Secretary of the Cabinet as shown.
6. When both appointments are held by one person.
7. Members of the Lands Tribunal and the Registrar of Civil Appeals will retain their present salaries on a mark-time basis until exceeded by the recommended salaries increased by subsequent pay awards.