Alex Attwood (Social Democratic and Labour Party)

2. asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel whether he will include all senior public sector salaries in his review of the salaries and bonuses of senior civil servants.       (AQO 3082/09)

Nigel Dodds (DUP)

The review of the current pay and reward arrangements for senior civil servants that I recently announced will focus on the pay and bonuses for senior civil servants in the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS), for which the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP)has management responsibility. It is not a review of wider public-sector pay. However, I have instructed my officials to consider how the review of Senior Civil Service pay will affect wider senior public-sector salaries and bonuses. That is, as I said in yesterday’s debate, a highly complex issue that will require careful consideration, and my officials will produce a paper setting out all the implications in detail.

Alex Attwood (Social Democratic and Labour Party)

I welcome the steps that the Minister has taken thus far in trying to address the matter. However, does the Minister agree that when, for example, an institution such as Queen’s University receives 40% of its funds from the taxpayer, it is simply not satisfactory, in times of recession, for its chief executive and vice chancellor to say on the radio last Tuesday that it is not for him to comment on his salary, which is a matter for the remuneration committee? Does the Minister agree that it is simply not good enough, in times of recession, for the chief executive of a publicly funded body to deny his personal responsibility for his salary level? Is there not a need for Government input on salary levels in higher education and the wider public service in the North?

Nigel Dodds (DUP)

The Member raises an important point about salaries, remuneration and rewards in the wider public sector and in bodies that are, to some extent, arm’s length but still, to a great extent, publicly funded. Those are important matters of public concern.

There has been much discussion and concentration on Senior Civil Service pay, bonuses, rewards and remuneration, and such scrutiny is perfectly normal and right. When we discuss those issues, however, it is important to bear in mind that much higher salaries are being paid in the wider public service in local government, education and library boards and the Housing Executive. Not all those organisations are much larger, but some are.

The Member referred to Queen’s University. The Minister for Employment and Learning might want to comment on that. People will have heard what was said about the matter and will make up their own minds. Increasingly, however, people are examining those issues intensely. It is important that we take the wider issue into account. Whereas, last year, pay increases in the Senior Civil Service were about 2·5% in relation to the base pay award, there were much greater increases at a senior level in other areas, such as education and library boards, the health and social care sector and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

We need to look at all the relevant issues, and, increasingly, the debate is focusing on wider issues as well as the Civil Service.

Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin)

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I listened carefully to the Minister’s response and took some assurance from it. Will he assure the House that the salaries and bonuses of senior civil servants will be reviewed? That could provide the House with important information for examining public sector pay in general and addressing any anomalies that have developed. Let us have a short, sharp, focused review of Senior Civil Service salaries and apply any lessons that are learned to other parts of the public sector.

Nigel Dodds (DUP)

The Chairperson of the Committee for Finance and Personnel makes the point that we should get on with the review that has been commissioned. I am considering proposals for taking that forward. As soon as the draft terms of reference are ready, I will circulate them to my ministerial colleagues.

I hope that a full report and proposals will be available to the Minister of Finance and Personnel in the autumn; there should not be unnecessary delay on the matter. It is entirely right and proper that the review is carried out by external and independent people. The review must be wide-ranging and must include comparisons with systems of pay and reward for similar jobs in the wider public sector, the private sector and across the rest of the country. It is a complex and wide-ranging issue, so let us carry out the review as quickly, but as thoroughly, as possible.

Danny Kennedy (UUP)

Presumably, the Minister accepts that the payment of large bonuses to senior civil servants is controversial and unsatisfactory, even for those who receive them. As the Minister prepares to leave office, does he have any suggestions or ideas about how the matter can be dealt with better? When does he expect his successor to be in a position to report back to the House on the issue?

Nigel Dodds (DUP)

We have outlined the way forward precisely because of the issues and concerns that have been raised. I have already indicated that I expect the report to be available in the autumn. The matter will be considered by the Minister at that time.

We are having a review to address what is a complex issue. Northern Ireland does not have an unusual arrangement. Senior civil servants in Northern Ireland are paid in the same way as those in other parts of the United Kingdom. The payment system follows the recommendations of the independent senior salary review body that advises on such matters. Nevertheless, people have expressed concerns, not least in the House, so it is right and proper to have the review. Let us await the outcome of it, and then we can consider the issue while taking account of the matters that have been raised.

Nigel Dodds (DUP)

The review will focus solely on the pay and bonuses of senior civil servants in the NICS, for which DFP has management responsibility. However, we need to consider how the review impacts on wider public sector salaries and bonuses. It is clear, from the issues that have been raised with me in today’s Question Time and elsewhere, that some work is required in respect of the pay and bonuses of senior civil servants. I welcome the recognition that the issue concerns general public sector pay also. It is right that the focus should be broadened, but the first piece of work will concern senior civil servants. It is sensible to look at the implications of the review and then proceed.