§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Lord President of the Council when the provision of compensation for Ministers who resign from office or are dismissed commenced; what factors occasioned it; how often it has been refused by any ex-Minister since 1979; and what representations he has received arguing that ex-Ministers should not publish memoirs of their time in office for a given period after leaving office.
§ Mr. NewtonSeverance payments were introduced for Ministers in the House of Lords by section 13 of Parliamentary Pensions Act 1984, and extended to those in the House of Commons by the Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991. These payments were introduced following recommendations by the Top Salaries Review Body; Reports No. 20, Cmnd 8881 of May 1983, and No. 26, Cm 362 of May 1988 respectively. They compensate for the abrupt loss of earnings which Ministers face immediately on leaving office. I am not216W aware of a severance payment ever having been refused. I have received no representations proposing a moratorium on the memoirs of ex-Ministers.