Senior Civil Service Pay

Thursday 13th July 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Jeremy Quin)]

I am today announcing the Government’s decision to accept the recommendations of the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) on pay for the senior civil service (SCS) for 2023-24.

The Government received the SSRB’s 2023 report on 8 June 2023. This will be presented to Parliament and published on gov.uk.

The Government greatly value the independent expertise and insight of the SSRB and are accepting in full its recommendations on SCS headline pay for the 2023-24 pay round.

This year, the SSRB has recommended:

An across-the-board increase for all SCS of 5.5% from 1 April 2023, and a further 1% of the SCS pay bill for pay anomalies to be directed at progression increases for those lower in the pay ranges who are delivering in role and demonstrating expertise; and

Setting the following pay ranges from 1 April 2023, based on increases to the minima of £2,000 for SCS1 to SCS3 and permanent secretaries, and retaining the existing maximas:

SCS pay band 1: £75,000 to £117,800.

SCS pay band 2: £97,000 to £162,500.

SCS pay band 3: £127,000 to £208,100.

The recommendation to raise the permanent secretary pay minimum from £150,000 to £152,000 will be considered by the Permanent Secretary Remuneration Committee in due course.

In reaching this decision, the Government have very carefully considered the advice and justifications provided by the independent SSRB. This is the highest award for the SCS for many years and today’s announcement strikes the right balance between fairness and affordability for the taxpayer, the Government priority to halve inflation, and the need to maintain an effective senior civil service that is able to recruit and retain the best senior talent to support the Government’s priorities.

[HCWS940]