Public Sector Exit Payment Cap Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Public Sector Exit Payment Cap

Elizabeth Truss Excerpts
Wednesday 10th April 2019

(5 years, 8 months ago)

Written Statements
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Elizabeth Truss Portrait The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss)
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Today, I have launched a consultation on the draft regulations to implement the public sector exit payment cap. The Government introduced powers to cap exit payments in the public sector at £95,000 in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015.

Public servants deserve to be properly rewarded for the vital work they do. That is why the Government announced the biggest public sector pay rise in 10 years last summer, with most going to the lowest paid nurses, teachers and police officers.

However, the way we reward public servants must be proportionate and fair to taxpayers. The very high exit payments we have seen granted to some highly-paid public sector employees in recent years clearly breach these principles. It is right that the Government acts on this to give taxpayers the confidence their money is being spent properly.

This consultation sets out the proposed method for implementing the cap, including which bodies should be in scope.

The consultation can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/restricting-exit-payments-in-the-public-sector.

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