Reform of National Pay Rates

Of course there is no merit, especially in the public service sector, in a policy that rewards an individual for simply moving to a more prosperous, less demanding location. If there were any merit in introducing local pay rates the obvious place to start would be MPs’ salaries; should the MP for Doncaster receive the same as the poor MP for Beaconsfield? 

 Although different basic pay rates have no merit if we agree the country needs to save money the implications of and the reasons for regional discrepancies in public sector expenditure does need to be investigated. The key measures for review being the number of public sector employees in each of the regions, their productivity and their overheads. 

 Some jobs, such as teachers, do need to be geographically based and here basic national pay rates could be supplemented in more affluent localities, by parents or the private sector.  Most civil service roles, however, could be located anywhere; Mumbai is probably a step too far but Morecombe is not.  Significant savings could be achieved by locating all positions in their most cost effective location. Reducing cost is the key and this extends far wider than salary, it includes office accommodation, travel, expenses, support services, reduction in unemployment benefits, etc.

 Let us look forward to an independent review of all tax payer funded costs and hope the Chancellor has the will to act upon the findings.