Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on whether the former Leader of the Opposition, the Rt. hon. Member for Doncaster North, accepted a severance payment upon his departure as Leader of the Opposition via the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991.

Certain office-holders, including the Leader of the Opposition, are entitled to a severance payment when they leave office under the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991. Under this provision, the Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP received a severance payment when he left the office of Leader of the Opposition in 2015.

Severance payments to office-holders are paid from the Consolidated Fund and published in the Consolidated Fund Annual Account. The relevant account is available on gov.uk at the following address:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a75a0dfe5274a545822cfbe/consolidated_funds_web.pdf.