January 2018

I greatly value the important work that public servants do in delivering essential public services. There is a trade-off between pay and jobs in many public services, and pay restraint is one of the many difficult choices the Government has had to make to help put the public finances back on track.

It is important to consider not just current pay but also the benefit of public sector defined benefit pensions. Treasury analysis has shown that in recent years public sector remuneration is still at a significant premium when considering the value of pensions. 

As the Chancellor has said, public sector pay policy has always been designed to strike the right balance between being fair to our public servants and being fair to those who pay for them. For 2018-19, the government has decided that more flexibility may be required to deliver world class public services. The detail of 2018-19 pay remits for each Pay Review Body will be agreed as part of the Budget process.

The government is accepting the recommendations of the Prison Service Pay Review Body to give staff in prisons pay increases of 1.7 per cent, recognising the need to help recruit and retain staff with the right experience and expertise to keep our prisons safe and secure. The government has also agreed to award police officers an additional 1 per cent non-consolidated pay increase for 2017-18, on top of a 1 per cent increase in their basic pay.