Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Civil Service Pensions – 17 July 1990

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Civil Service Pensions on 17th July 1990.

Mr. Alfred Morris To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his reply to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe on 4 July,Official Report, column 577, if he will now state to what extent, either implicitly or explicitly, pensions were taken into account in each of the years from 1960 onwards in determining home civil service pay; and if he has a precise figure for the extent that pensions were taken into account for any particular year.

Mr. Major Civil service pensions are an important part of the total remuneration package and are fully taken into account in setting pay levels. Assessments of the value of the civil service pension scheme have been made for the purposes of pay negotiations under the previous pay comparability arrangements and under the pay determination framework introduced as part of the new flexible pay arrangements. In 1980, the last year of the earlier arrangements, the reduction in pay levels averaged over men and women to take account of civil service pensions was 7.9 per cent.