Asked by: Baroness Kramer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many BAME civil servants there are at the Ministry of Defence at (1) SCS1, (2) SCS2, (3) SCS3, and (4) SCS4, grade.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Defence has been working hard to achieve a more diverse workforce. However, progress in terms of the representative rates of our people – both military and civilian – has been too slow. It is clear there is still much further to go if we are to successfully attract and retain diverse talent both now and in the future. That is why we have renewed our levels of ambition at the highest levels in Defence as we work to fulfil the key objective in our 2018-2030 Diversity and Inclusion Strategy to eliminate discrimination and improve diversity throughout Defence. Work is ongoing to improve all aspects of diversity in the Ministry of Defence (MOD), including through reviewing Senior Civil Servant recruitment processes and better targeted marketing and communications.
As at 1 April 2020, in the MOD (Main), the sum total of Senior Civil Servants (SCS) self-declaring as Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) was less than 10; of those, there were fewer than 10 SCS at Pay Band 1 and fewer than five at Pay Band 2. At the same date, the SCS in MOD Main was comprised of, respectively, 0.5 per cent and 0.8 per cent of the total MOD Main BAME and White workforce.
The MOD publishes biannual statistics on diversity declarations for Armed Forces personnel and MOD civilian staff. The latest editions can be found at the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-index
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-diversity-dashboard-2020
Asked by: Baroness Kramer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to extend to the Defence Medical Services the same changes to pension tax rules that they are offering to senior consultants within the National Health Service.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Department for Health and Social Care are intending to publish a second consultation concerning an amendment to the NHS pension scheme for senior clinicians shortly. Once published the Ministry of Defence (MOD) will consider these proposals and their effect on MOD and Service personnel, including those in the Defence Medical Services.
Asked by: Baroness Kramer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of compulsory contributions by members of the military to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme in the light of the current limits on annual and lifetime allowances for tax-free pension contributions.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Armed Forces Pension Schemes are non-contributory, defined benefit, final salary or career average schemes. They remain the only public-sector schemes that do not require their members to contribute to their future pension, and reflect the unique sacrifice the Armed Forces and their families make to this country. The Government has no plans to alter the schemes.
Annual and lifetime allowance limits have reduced. Consequently, more senior officers are breaching their annual and lifetime allowances and incurring a tax charge. Options are available to these individuals to mitigate a tax charge, including using unclaimed tax allowance from previous years or asking their pension scheme to pay the charge out of future benefits. The Department is keeping the impact on retention of the changes under review.
Asked by: Baroness Kramer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the retention of senior medical consultants in the Armed Forces of the effects of the non-voluntary contributions which the military requires to be made to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme and current limits on annual and lifetime allowances for tax-free pension contributions.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Armed Forces Pension Schemes are non-contributory, defined benefit, final salary or career average schemes. They remain the only public-sector schemes that do not require their members to contribute to their future pension, and reflect the unique sacrifice the Armed Forces and their families make to this country. The Government has no plans to alter the schemes.
Annual and lifetime allowance limits have reduced. Consequently, more senior officers are breaching their annual and lifetime allowances and incurring a tax charge. Options are available to these individuals to mitigate a tax charge, including using unclaimed tax allowance from previous years or asking their pension scheme to pay the charge out of future benefits. The Department is keeping the impact on retention of the changes under review.
Asked by: Baroness Kramer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial consequences for senior medical consultants in the Armed Forces of the combined effect of annual non-voluntary contributions which the military requires to be made to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme and current limits on annual and lifetime allowances for tax-free pension contributions.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Armed Forces Pension Schemes are non-contributory, defined benefit, final salary or career average schemes. They remain the only public-sector schemes that do not require their members to contribute to their future pension, and reflect the unique sacrifice the Armed Forces and their families make to this country. The Government has no plans to alter the schemes.
Annual and lifetime allowance limits have reduced. Consequently, more senior officers are breaching their annual and lifetime allowances and incurring a tax charge. Options are available to these individuals to mitigate a tax charge, including using unclaimed tax allowance from previous years or asking their pension scheme to pay the charge out of future benefits. The Department is keeping the impact on retention of the changes under review.