Downing Street Says » Smarter Government Speech

Asked if the Prime Minister’s announcement on public sector pay today meant that details of talent at the BBC who earned over 150,000 would be published, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) said that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury would approve pay levels in excess of 150,000 for all Civil Servants on appointment and appointments to public sector bodies which are subject to Ministerial sign-off. This would also apply to all bonus payments of over 50,000 where Ministerial sign-off was needed. For public sector bodies where Ministerial approval was not required, the Secretary of State would expect all organisations in their sectors making senior managerial appointments in excess of 150,000 to publicly justify this level and any bonus in excess of 50,000.

Bill Cockburn had been asked by the Prime Minister to look at the whole area of public sector pay in respect of those earning above 150,000. Mr Cockburn would put together a group of representatives who would report by the time of the Budget. It was for Bill Cockburn to look at organisations that weren’t directly covered by Ministerial appointments. However, in terms of BBC talent it was unlikely that they would be covered, as they were not public sector managers in the same way as other BBC staff.

Put that the BBC already published details of top earners, the PMS said that there were lots of people currently earning 150,000 across the public sector whose details did not currently appear in the annual reports of the organisations concerned.

Asked who Bill Cockburn was and if he was the best person for the job, the PMS said that Bill Cockburn was the Chairman of the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) and former Chief Executive of The Royal Mail and BT with vast experience of salary review bodies.

Asked if the Prime Minister had a general view on whether or not newsreaders’ salaries should be published, the PMS said that the Prime Minister was focused on looking across the whole public sector and making sure that we had a system of justified salary and accountability.

Asked what the Prime Minister would say to people who suggested that he was responsible for public sector salaries, the PMS said that the SSRB and other independent bodies looked at public sector pay and that structure had been in place for some time.

Asked how the Government arrived at the figure of 150,000, the PMS said that it was linked to the higher tax rate.

Asked when the matter of public sector pay had become a concern, the PMS said that there was not a specific date to point to; this was something that had been of concern to people for some time.

Put that Smarter Government should be less well-paid by definition, the PMS said that that was not what he had said; people were looking at Government in a very different way now – they wanted accountability and transparency.

Asked if it was the Prime Minister’s view that many senior public service figures were overpaid, the PMS said no; the Prime Minister had tremendous admiration for people who entered public life, but what we had seen recently was growing public concern about salary levels. We needed to explain and justify these salaries.

Put that Bill Cockburn had said earlier this year that the review he was being asked to undertake now could not be done and asked how the Prime Minister had changed his mind, the PMS said that Bill Cockburn had agreed to do this; it was an opportunity to look at this area before the Budget and for recommendations to be made.

Put that the Prime Minister had talked about the relocation of civil service jobs in his speech and asked if this would actually happen, the PMS said that the Prime Minister was very committed to this. The desire to move functions out of Whitehall was a real prospect. There were plenty of examples where Government agencies had successfully moved out of London and flourished.

Asked if the Prime Minister felt that we were living in a post-bureaucratic age, the PMS said that the Prime Minister would say that we were now in the third generation of public service. People now used digital technology to hold public services to account and Government agencies had the ability to have one-touch contact with people.

Put that the Chief Secretary would presumably cut some salaries, the PMS said that the Chief Secretary had to be comfortable with salaries of new appointments or any renewals of contracts.

Asked if the review would look at people in No 10, the PMS said that the review would cover anyone who earned over 150,000 where the stated conditions applied.

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» Monday, December 7, 2009

Smarter Government Speech

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