The FDA has responded to the government’s decision on pay for the Senior Civil Service (SCS), and the publication of the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) Annual Report, calling for the government to do much more to invest in its senior leaders and address systemic problems on pay progression, performance management and staff morale.

Writing to FDA members following the government’s announcement, FDA Assistant General Secretary Lucille Thirlby said that, whilst the FDA welcomed the government’s acceptance of the SSRB recommendations, “we believe the government needs to put its foot to the pedal.

“Despite the focus of the Cabinet Office on delivering a robust pay progression system – after years of the FDA and the SSRB calling for this – we are concerned that we are yet to see the detail on how the proposed capability-based approach will operate. There is no legitimate reason for the lack of progress on a structural reform other than lack of political will from Government.

“At a time when the country is relying on the Senior Civil Service like never before, the case for reform has been made and the time for action is now.”

Speaking to Civil Service World, Thirlby expanded on this point:

“The government’s own evidence called for an SCS with world-class capability: to maintain and increase this it must allocate greater funding, invest in its senior leaders and resolve the long-term issues of a lack of pay progression and low confidence, both in the performance management system and morale.”

Speaking later to Eddie Mair on LBC, FDA Assistant General Secretary Amy Leversidge made the point that our civil service is regularly ranked as the best in the world, and “we need a pay system that recognises that.”

Thirlby commented to the Daily Express that it was, however, welcome that the government had accepted the SSRB recommendations, saying it was right that the government “acknowledge the exceptional efforts being made by senior public service leaders in extraordinary times.”