CIVIL SERVANTS

Public bodies are still handing out massive salaries to new "fat cats", despite promises of a crackdown following wage freezes and cutbacks on private sector workers. Details slipped out to Parliament reveal there's a raft of new civil service jobs up for grabs, with eye-watering salaries paid for by the taxpayer. Energy regulator Ofgem took on a "renewable generation" director for £380,000. Forty-two other posts advertised on the Civil Service website in the past six months were in pay bands starting at £81,000 and rising to more than £200,000.

The pen-pusher in charge of Defence Materials is earning £220,000, ten times what a frontline soldier can expect. A "communications and marketing director" at the Identity and Passport Service is getting up to £162,500. And the new "director general fair markets" at the Business Department is raking in up to £208,200. But the gravy train may soon be brought to a halt by the new government. Chancellor George Osborne has pledged no public servant would earn above the PM's £144,520 without his approval. (Source: News of the World, May/10)

Civil servants pocketed £130m in bonuses last year, or £356,000 a day. The Whitehall pen-pushers got up to £49,000, twice the limit Chancellor Alistair Darling slapped on payouts to bankers. The bonanza is 20% more than the £108million handouts last year for hitting targets set by ministers and is set to rise next year. The MoD, which has been blasted for troops' lack of equipment in Afghanistan, was the top spender with £52.98million and it plans to give out £6million more in 2010. And the Foreign Office has set aside £8.2million for next year, a £600,000 increase.

The biggest single bonus, £49,004, was paid to a civil servant at the Department of Health. The Foreign Office had one £30,000 payout while the Department for Children gave another official £25,000. News of the bumper payments comes just weeks after Gordon Brown vowed to end the "culture of excess" that has produced fat-cat salaries in the public sector. The Department for Work and Pensions, which handles support for the unemployed, pensioners and the UK’s poorest people, paid out more than £23million with a further £6million allocated for “in-year” rewards.

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said the Whitehall performance payouts were "unjustifiable". He said, "Those who deliver great results for the taxpayer should be well rewarded, but no one can defend bonuses indiscriminately handed out." Lib Dem treasury spokesman Vince Cable added, "What kind of message does it send when the Government talks tough on bonuses for the City whilst allowing Whitehall these pots? At a time when people up and down the country are tightening their belts, it is insensitive in the extreme."

One civil servant at the Department of Health got a payment of £49,004 alone, while the Foreign Office paid bonuses of up to £30,000 and several other departments paid sums worth more than £20,000. Government claims to be seeking value for taxpayers’ money were further undermined when it emerged departments had spent more than £50,000 on Christmas trees in the last five years. A Cabinet Office spokesman defended the payments and said civil servants were "working harder than ever". Research showed the total Whitehall bonus pot for 2008-9 was just under £129.4million, or about £2 for every man, woman and child in the UK. It included end-of-year payments and performance rewards. (Source: The Sun, Dec/09)

Civil servants paid ‘danger money’ for working at the Ministry of Defence are more likely to be injured typing or tripping on a paving stone than in the line of fire. The department, which has been criticised for failing to provide frontline troops with adequate equipment, is also spending £1,000 a day for ‘secure cars’ for its top Whitehall mandarins. The revelations come weeks after the Government defended paying MoD civil servants a total of £47million in performance-related bonuses, citing the ‘dangerous’ nature of their jobs. Now, the MoD’s own statistics show 330 civil servants were hurt while on duty last year, but none in ‘hostile environments’.

A separate report reveals the department’s insurers have paid out more than £60million in three years to cover staff compensation claims. Eighty civil servants hurt themselves ‘lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling items’ including keyboards, ten were hurt in ‘physical movement’ such as exercise or drills and another ten ‘struck against ... something stationary’ such as a door. The biggest risk to MoD staff was tripping, with 90 such injuries recorded, but no one was hurt by ammunition or explosives or in a ‘hostile environment’. Meanwhile, the MoD has revealed that from April to June this year, it spent £87,289 on secure cars for senior officials.

MoD Permanent Secretary Sir Bill Jeffrey’s car use cost the taxpayer £14,615 and his deputy Ursula Brennan’s car cost £9,045. A spokesman said they needed official cars because they often carried top-secret documents. He said, "Our most senior staff use an official car where this makes good business sense and is justified by the nature of their appointment or command duties." The spokesman said the MoD was reviewing the ‘performance awards’ received by 50,000 civilian staff, adding that ‘if they are found to be inappropriate, they will be changed’ undera new pay deal set for 2011. (Source: Sunday Mail, Dec/09)

Underworked civil servants are being given counselling manuals in case they feel down about not having enough to do. Ten Whitehall departments have published different guides advising penpushers how to cope with the boredom of their cushy, well-paid jobs. One, by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, explains workers' problems may be caused by having "too little work or responsibility", and advises them to occupy their minds with a hobby. Another, at the Department for International Development, warns "too little pressure" may result in lethargy. It tells staff suffering stress, "Breathe in and out heavily a few times and imagine yourself being successful."

It also suggests they allow 20% more time for tasks to avoid feeling any pressure at all. At the Treasury a 72-page book for 1,500 staff in charge of Britain's ailing economy says, "It's OK to give less than 100%, be inconsistent, fail, stop competing, be mad, sad and glad, switch off, daydream." The Department for Communities and Local Government has two booklets. One tells bosses to look out for underworked staff who may be CRYING and also suggests they issue diet advice. The staff handbook tells workers to try meditation or yoga and adds, "Make time for yourself, you deserve it".

The booklets, thought to have cost tens of thousands of pounds, were slammed by campaign group the Taxpayers' Alliance as an "infuriating waste of money". And shadow housing minister Grant Shapps said, "The Government might be better off concentrating on reducing the country's deficit than issuing advice on how to meditate." But the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said workplace stress was a "health and safety issue", adding, "We acknowledge the importance of reducing it by a variety of means." (Source: News of the World, Mar/10)

Civil servants lodged a series of objections to spending plans by ministers, including Lord Mandelson, in the final months of the Labour Government. Official figures showed that mandarins were objecting to decisions made by ministers at a rate of nearly one a month as Labour headed for defeat in the election. Labour ministers have been accused of pursuing a “scorched earth policy” by leaving behind billions of pounds of spending commitments for the coalition Government. Figures disclosed by the Treasury showed that ministers overruled civil servants on spending plans on at least four occasions since the start of 2010.

Advice from officials was ignored on a further nine occasions in 2009. This compares with just five occasions in the previous three years. Three quarters of these objections were on ‘value for money’ grounds. Lord Mandelson's spending decisions were challenged on five occasions in 2009 including a loan to a quango in the west Midlands and £10million worth of funding for sports complex in Leeds. Other objections on value for money grounds were made to the £300million car scrappage scheme and plans for dairy farmers.

The spending decisions are now likely to be investigated by MPs on the Public Accounts Committee, which oversees Whitehall spending, when it is reconvened. The challenges were discovered in a review of all Whitehall spending agreements, being carried out by David Laws, chief secretary of the Treasury. Under Whitehall rules, if an official objects to a spending decision by a minister they set it out in writing, forcing the minister to over-rule them.

Labour ministers have been accused of pursuing a “scorched earth policy” before the election, by leaving behind billions of pounds spending commitments. Coalition ministers are said to have been alarmed to have discovered apparently unknown contracts and uncosted spending commitments. It emerged that Liam Byrne, Mr Laws’ Labour predecessor, had left him a note saying, “'Dear Chief Secretary, I'm afraid to tell you there is no money. Kind regards and good luck!” (Source: Daily Telegraph, May/10)

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