Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral answer of the Prime Minister of 2 May 2018, Official Report, column 312, whether HMRC is able to offer a 2018 pay award to its staff in excess of 1 per cent without ministerial approval.

Pay for civil servants is delegated to government departments, within a framework of financial and other parameters. These parameters are agreed by Cabinet Office and HM Treasury Ministers each year, which are set out in the Civil Service pay guidance.

All government departments are required to submit their pay remit business case to their Secretary of State irrespective of the value of the pay award. As HMRC does not have a Secretary of State, they are required to seek approval from HM Treasury ministers for all annual pay awards.