Public Sector Exit Payments (Limitation) Bill

Victoria Atkins Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 3rd March 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Victoria Atkins)]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddiq) for her advice, but I first congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Sir Christopher Chope) on securing a Second Reading of the Bill. I thank him and several other hon. Friends for their continued focus on this important issue.

We value our public sector workers and the services they provide, but it is important to take a common-sense approach when considering the terms and conditions that should be on offer in the public sector, and to strike a fair balance between the interests of employees and taxpayers. Such payments must be fair and proportionate, and value for money must be achieved for the taxpayer. That is particularly pertinent at this time, when difficult decisions have had to be taken about the public finances and we look to squeeze more out of every pound of taxpayers’ money. Indeed, one of the Prime Minister’s five pledges is to ensure that our national debt is falling, so that we can secure the future of the public services on which so many rely. That is important because in recent years the Government have been concerned about the overall spending on exit payments, and the number of very large exit payments made to individuals.