Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer of 31 January,Official Report, columns 513–14, regarding accommodation at the occupied royal palaces, on what basis and by whom it is determined which staff pay rent, how it is assessed and reviewed and by whom; to whom it is paid; and how many pay rent for accommodation relating to each of the households.
§ Mr. Sproat[holding answer 7 February 1994]: As a general rule, more senior staff pay rent and more junior staff have the benefit of accommodation taken into account in determining wage levels. The postholders who pay rent were determined in discussion with the Treasury some years ago.
Rent, referred to as official accommodation deduction, is paid by 35 of the 220 employees to whom accommodation is provided. The rent or OAD is set at 8.5 per cent. of pre-tax salary, as notified by the Treasury. The amount deducted therefore increases automatically in line with salary increases. Those who pay rent are all employees of the Queen's household. The benefit of paying the reduced salary—the gross salary less the OAD -accrues to the account from which the salary is paid, principally the Queen's civil list or the grant in aid.
For other employees, the value of accommodation is taken into account in determining wage salary levels. In the past, this was not done on a consistent basis for all employees. However, since the revised civil list arrangements were entered into with effect from 1 January 1991, the household has undertaken a complete review of its grading and salary structure, including the introduction of performance-related pay, and pay levels for each post now take into account the value of the benefit of accommodation on a formalised basis. For the majority of the residences, which are modest flats or cottages, the value is taken as the local authority rent for a similar-sized property. The account from which the salary is paid again benefits from the reduced salary cost.
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