Ministry of Defence: Pay
(asked on 28th March 2023) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a comparative assessment of the percentage increases in the (a) pay for MoD staff and (b) national living wage since 2016; what assessment he has made of the impact of the levels of pay for staff in his Department on the (i) recruitment and (ii) retention of staff in his Department; and if he will make a statement.
The increase, as a percentage, for the national living wage (NLW) rate, the amount the Civil Service (CS) pay remit permitted, and the overall award which the Ministry of Defence (MOD) implemented in each year since 2016 is presented in the table below:
Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
NLW Increase | 7.45% | 4.17% | 4.4% | 4.85% | 6.21% | 2.18% | 6.62% | 9.68% |
CS Remit guidance | 1% | 1% | 1-1.5% | 1-2% | 1.5-2.5% | 0% | 2-3% |
|
MOD pay award | 1% | 1% | 1.5% | 2% | 2.5% | 0% | 3% |
|
Notes to table:
- The MOD has implemented an award at the maximum of the permitted ranges allowed under the Cabinet Office/Treasury guidance in each year. This represents the overall MOD change in pay and not necessarily what every individual received.
- For 2023 the CS guidance, and therefore MOD’s award, are yet to be published/determined and, therefore, their respective cells are blank.
No assessment has been made on the impact of the NLW rise on recruitment and retention. This will be closely monitored from April 2023 when the new NLW rate comes into effect. A multi-disciplinary project team has been created to steer the Defence response to the NLW and any necessary changes in our operating model.