§ Baroness Hilton of Eggardonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their response on the reports and recommendations of the Review Body on Senior Salaries. [HL1870]
§ The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Jay of Paddington)Two reports from the Review Body on Senior Salaries are published today. One on the initial pay, allowances, pensions and severance arrangements for Members of the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly; and a second on the salaries for Ministers and Office-holders and office support for Members in those bodies, and on certain parliamentary development recommendations outstanding from the Review Body's 1996 Review of parliamentary pay and allowances. Copies are available in the Vote Office and the Libraries of the House. I am grateful to the Chairman and the Members of the Review Body for their work.
The main recommendations of the Review Body with regard to pay in the devolved institutions are:
Pay Members Salaries Scottish Parliament £39,000 Northern Ireland Assembly £37,000 National Assembly for Wales £33,500 Salaries for Ministers and Office-holders (Paid in addition to a Member's salary.) Ministerial Salary for First Minister for Scotland, First Secretary for Wales, and First Minister for Northern Ireland £62,556 Ministerial Salary for Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland £47,504 Salary for Ministerial duties in the Executive of the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly £32,451 Office-holder Salary for Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly £32,451 The Government have decided that they will accept all of these recommendations with the exception of that for the Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland. In view of the unique political situation in Northern Ireland and the joint responsibility which the Deputy First Minister is expected to exercise with the First Minister, the Government believe that there should be parity of salary between these two posts. Consequently, the salary for the Deputy First Minister will also be £62,556.
91WAIn accordance with the Review Body's recommendation on an annual pay review for the salaries in the devolved institutions, these figures will be uprated with effect from 1 April 1999 and annually thereafter by the same percentage as the average of the movements in the mid-points of the nine Senior Civil Service pay bands below Permanent Secretary. This is the same mechanism as is used for Westminster Parliamentary salaries.
On the recommendations on allowances which the Review Body makes in the two reports, the Government have decided that they form a useful starting point for the development of comprehensive and tightly controlled allowance systems within the new institutions. As the Review Body itself acknowledges, it is not yet possible to know exactly what the allowances will need to cover and some of the recommendations themselves point to further work. The Government believe that further work needs to be done on the basis of the recommendations and that this is best done by the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly themselves. We would expect them to put in place as soon as possible an appropriate but closely controlled system, mindful of the need for a prudent approach and the need to justify to the taxpayer any significant divergence from the recommendations made by the Review Body.
In both of the reports on the new devolved institutions the SSRB noted the difficulty of judging the correct level of pay and allowances when the institutions were not yet in operation. In both cases the SSRB recommended an early review, in 2001, which would be based on the evidence of two years of operation rather than on the current basis of the anticipation of roles and responsibilities. The Government recognise the difficulty expressed by the SSRB and fully accept the arguments for a review in 2001.
In relation to Ministers in the UK Government, the Review Body recommends that the salaries for Ministers below Cabinet level in the House of Lords and certain other Office holders in the House of Lords, including the Leader of the Opposition and the Opposition Chief Whip, should be increased as follows:
92WA
Junior Ministers and other Office Holders in the House of Lords Current Salary £ Salary after SSRB recommendation £ Salary from 1 April 19991 £ Minister of State 53,264 61,764 64,426 Parliamentary Under-Secretary 44,832 53,332 55,631 Government Chief Whip 53,264 61.764 64,426 Deputy Chief Whip 44,832 53,332 55,631
Junior Ministers and other Office Holders in the House of Lords Current Salary £ Salary after SSRB recommendation £ Salary from 1 April 19991 £ Government Whip 40,547 49,047 51,161 Leader of the Opposition 44,832 53,332 55,631 Opposition Chief Whip 40,547 49,047 51,161 Chairman of Committees 53,264 61,764 64,426 Principal Deputy Chairman 49.052 57,552 60,032 1Increase in line with SSRB recommendation for these and other Ministerial and Parliamentary salaries. This recommendation reflects the Review Body's finding that, since the 1996 changes to the pay arrangements for Ministers in the Commons, the salaries of these posts in the Lords have fallen behind to an unreasonable extent. The proposed one-off increase of £8,500 is broadly equivalent to the amount by which the MPs' salary paid to Ministers in the Commons was abated prior to the 1996 changes and so restores that relativity. The Government support the arguments put forward by the Review Body that such an increase for these posts is fair and reasonable. We shall be bringing forward a draft order for consideration by each House to implement the recommended changes.
The Review Body also makes a series of recommendations relating to the central provision of IT equipment for Members' offices, both at Westminster and in their constituencies. The Government are not persuaded by the arguments put forward for enforced central provision of such equipment, as this would remove Members' choice in determining what equipment they needed, and how much of the Office Costs Allowance they wish individually to spend on it. The Government agree, however, that there may be cost and other advantages in central bulk procurement of IT equipment for those Members who wish to pursue such an approach. We propose therefore to invite the Information Committee to explore this option further and report its views to the House.