Restriction of Public Sector Exit Payments Regulations 2020

Lord Bishop of Worcester Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd September 2020 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Bishop of Worcester]

My Lords, the attempt to address egregiously large public sector exit payments is undoubtedly a good thing and I applaud it. However, to enact regulations without attention being given to unintended consequences for lower-paid staff is surely not.

Reference was made by the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, to the LGA’s concerns with the regulations as drafted. The LGA believes that employees in scope of them could be earning far less than the Government have suggested. I am standing up because individuals in my diocese have expressed grave concern about this. They are frightened because pension strain is included in the £95,000 cap, as has been mentioned. The regulations could have lasting negative impacts on long-serving staff who do not earn large sums of money. The Minister mentioned cases of genuine hardship, and I would be pleased to hear what he means by that.

As the noble Earl, Lord Devon, made clear, in these economically uncertain times pension strain is particularly significant, as large numbers of public servants only a few years below pensionable age are increasingly likely to be made redundant. These regulations could penalise low-paid, long-serving, loyal public servants.

When the Scottish Government implemented similar regulations, they intentionally opted not to include pension strain payments, stating that

“including employer pension costs in any severance payment cap may unduly expose longer-serving and lower-paid employees to the cap”,

and that they have

“therefore decided to exclude these costs from the cap.”

Following in Scotland’s footsteps might be a positive way forward in protecting lower wage earners at the heart of our public services.

It is of course right that high exit payments are brought to acceptable levels. However, it is surely vital that proper attention is paid to the unintended consequences that these regulations could have for lower-paid public servants who have dedicated decades in local authorities and public bodies to the common good. I would welcome any clarifications or assurances that the Minister is able to give.