Cabinet Office written statement – made at on 21 May 2026.
Darren Jones
Minister of State (Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister), Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
I am today announcing the Government’s decision to accept, in part, the recommendations of the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) on pay for the Senior Civil Service (SCS) for 2026-27.
This is being laid in Parliament today and published on gov.uk.
This Government greatly values the independent expertise and insight of the SSRB and broadly accepts its recommendations for the SCS for the 2026-27 pay round.
In January this year, I set out the need to reward the doers, not the talkers, in the Civil Service and my intention to award higher, but fewer, bonuses to those exceptional senior civil servants who go above and beyond, in order to incentivise faster delivery and innovation.
Following this, the Government received the SSRB’s 2026 Report on 6 March 2026. The SSRB recommended:
- that all members of the senior civil service should receive a 3.5 per cent consolidated increase to base pay from 1 April 2026;
- setting the following changes to the SCS pay ranges from 1 April 2026:
- a central pot, comprising 1.0 percent of the total SCS paybill, is allocated for the introduction of pay progression for the SCS from 1 April 2026, supporting our commitment to incentivise and reward the highest levels of performance.
The Government has very carefully considered the advice provided by the independent SSRB and fully understands the justifications by the SSRB for reaching its recommendations. Improving the pay system for the SCS is an important and long standing objective and the Government is grateful for the SSRB’s work and recommendations on this.
This is just the start to improving our pay system. It represents an important milestone in modernising a framework to foster a dynamic and innovative Civil Service. Alongside the changes I announced to the bonus scheme in January, I am proud to announce that for the first time ever, we are introducing performance-based pay progression for the senior civil service – with those who deliver for the public being rewarded with salary increases. This is one of the many steps I am taking to power up the system to make sure words are turned into action and what happens in Westminster is followed through to the streets, schools and livelihoods of people in every part of the country.
In light of the overall constraints posed by the current affordability context, as well as fairness with the wider public sector, the first recommendation on consolidated increases to pay is only partially accepted. Instead the Government has decided that the total increase in SCS pay should be 3.5 percent. This means base pay increases for all members of the SCS is limited to a 2.5 percent increase in base pay, as well as the 1 percent of SCS paybill designated to the introduction of pay progression. The Government accepts all other recommendations in full.
In addition, as outlined in the former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster’s letter to the SSRB Chair of 22 July 2025, recommendations made by the SSRB in relation to the permanent Secretary group will be additionally considered by the Permanent Secretary Remuneration Committee.
The Government is also publishing its Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance, including the introduction of a voluntary Pay Compression Framework to allow departments to address pay compression affecting the lowest paid.
This Government values the leadership role that senior civil servants play in driving its ambitions on public sector modernisation and delivery. After years of cuts to public investment, and lack of support for innovation, the public sector has become disjointed, overworked and often resourced in the wrong places.
The implementation of these recommendations will support the ambition for a modernised, and simplified pay structure, that is driven by increased performance and delivery. Through shorter pay ranges and the introduction of performance-based pay progression, these recommendations enable the Government to drive a more productive, and incentivised senior workforce to lead the country through increasing complex challenges - so that together, we can build a Britain that is richer, fairer and stronger.
I am grateful to the Chair and members for their Report.
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A Permanent Secretary is a top civil servant- there is a permanent secretary in each Office/Dept./Ministry Permanent Secretaries are always Knights, (I.E. "Sir" or "Dame"). BBC Sitcom "Yes Minster" portrays Sir Humprey Appelby as a Permanent Secretary, steretypically spouting lots of red tape and bureacracy.
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