Civil Service Pay Guidance

I appreciate the hard work civil servants have undertaken in recent years to deliver more for less, which has made a significant contribution to consolidate Britain's finances. The public sector pay cap was never intended to be a permanent or long-term solution, and I am pleased that it is no longer a requirement that public sector pay rises be limited to one per cent if Departments are able to find efficiency savings. 
 
You are correct that, in 2018 to 2019, Departments will be able to make average pay awards within the new range of one to one and a half per cent. I would like to assure you that this is not a cap and individuals may receive a higher or lower award than this. As each workforce is different, departments will now be able to determine pay awards for their workforces according to their needs and resources. I recognise the need to meet rising demand for the incredible services public sector workers offer and I am pleased departments can offer higher pay awards where this can be afforded.
 
All civil servants deserve to be rewarded for they work they do, so that the public sector can continue to attract the brightest and best. Though I appreciate that difficult decisions were made on pay restraints, the pay cap, which formed part of the Government's long-term economic plan, helped to get this country's finances back under control at a time when the UK had the largest deficit in peacetime history.
 
My colleagues in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have also introduced the National Living Wage, which over the last two years has delivered pay rises to millions of workers, many of whom were our lowest-paid civil servants. I am pleased that any increases in pay due to National Living Wage will be in addition to average awards higher than the one to one and a half per cent range.