§ Dr. Cable:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the harmonised index ofconsumer prices will apply to index-linked pay in (a) central government employment, (b) the National Health Service and (c) independent statutory agencies and regulators. [141727]
§ Ruth Kelly:Pay is not index-linked to inflation in any part of the public sector. Pay remains the responsibility of individual departments and employers.
§ Dr. Cable:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to link index-linked public sector (a) pay and (b) pensions to the harmonised index of consumer prices; and what estimate he has made of the change in annual public sector annuities which would result. [141728]
§ Ruth Kelly:Pay is not index-linked to inflation in any part of the public sector. Pay remains the responsibility of individual departments and employers.
58WNor are there any plans to link index-linked public service pensions to the harmonised index of consumer prices. When the Chancellor announced his intention to change the inflation target to one set on the consumer prices (HICP) definition, in his statements on Economic and Monetary Union on 9 June and 10 July, he also confirmed that pensions such as State second pension and public service pension benefits would he calculated on exactly the same basis as now. Public service pensions will continue to be increased in line with the September to September movement in the retail prices index, as calculated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). benefits would be calculated on exactly the same basis as now. Public service pensions will continue to be increased in line with the September to September movement in the retail prices index, as calculated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
§ Dr. Cable:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the interest paid on index-linked government securities was in each year since 1997; and what the interest payments would have been if the harmonised index of consumer prices had been applied. [141729]
§ Ruth Kelly:The following table sets out the actual interest paid on index-linked gilts each year between 1997–98 and 2002–03.
Interest paid on index-linked gilts1 £ billion Year Total 1997–98 3.1 1998–99 3.6 1999–2000 2.5 2000–01 3.9 2001–02 3.0 2002–03 3.0 1Including RPI inflation uplift No estimates have been produced of the interest costs of index-linked gilts based on a calculated inflation uplift using the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) rather than the general index of retail prices (RPI).