HC Deb 18 July 1996 vol 281 cc619-20W
Mrs. Ann Winterton

To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, what was the average annual salary, including where appropriate any overtime, on 1 October 1971 of (i) (a) a Senior Library Clerk, (b) the highest paid Chef, (c) a Senior Clerk in the House of Commons and (ii) a ministerial car driver; if he will indicate in each of those cases what that salary would be today if it had been increased annually in line with inflation; and what is the current annual salary for each of those grades.

Mr. Beith

Figures for salaries of Commission staff prior to 1978 are not available centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Since the establishment of the House of Commons Commission in 1978, staff salaries have been included in the Commission's annual reports. Figures for ministerial car drivers are a matter for the Cabinet Office. The earliest figures readily available are those for 1 April 1978.

London-based salaries are as follows:

  • Senior Clerk: £7,315–£9,235 p.a.
  • Senior Library Clerk: £5,917–£8,879 p.a.
  • Executive Chef: £9,980 p.a. (at 1 January 1980)1
  • 1 The Refreshment Department did not become a Department of the House until 1980 and staff salaries for that Department did not appear in the Commission's report until that for 1979–80

Those Senior Clerks and Senior Library Clerks who performed additional night duty were paid an allowance of £1,555 p.a.

Applying the inflation factors for 1 April 1978 (x 3.093) and 1 April 1980 (x 2.454), respectively, these figures become:

  • Senior Clerk: £22,625–£28,619 p.a.
  • Senior Library Clerk: £18,301–£27,463 p.a.
  • Executive Chef: £24,490 p.a.

The night allowance becomes £4,810 p.a.

Current salaries for the above grades are as follows:

  • Senior Clerk: £28,954–£43,802 p.a.
  • Senior Library Clerk: £28,954–£43,802 p.a.
  • Executive Chef: £28,954–£43,802 p.a.

The current rate of night allowance is £4,010 p.a.

In 1992 staff pay scales were radically restructured and they now include an element for performance-related pay so that strict comparison with the earlier pay scales is not valid.