Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the call by the Prime Minister at the British Chambers of Commerce Conference on 10 February for salaries and wages in the private sector to be increased, whether they will now arrange for the caps on the salaries and wages of public sector employees to be lifted; and if not, why not.

Lord Deighton

The Chancellor announced at Autumn Statement 2011 that for the two years following the public sector pay freeze, public sector pay awards will average at 1 per cent. At Budget 2013 it was announced that awards in 2015-16 will be limited to an average of up to 1 per cent.

The government has made no decisions on pay policy beyond 2015-16. Decisions on future pay policy will be made at the next spending round.

Pay restraint is one of the many difficult choices the government has had to make to help put the UK’s public finances back on track. It is helping to protect jobs in the public sector and support the quality of public services.