The FDA gave oral evidence to the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) on 25 February, calling for the SSRB to recommend the government sets a pay bill increase for 2021.

Giving evidence, General Secretary Dave Penman and Assistant General Secretary Lucille Thirlby also called for the implementation of pay progression, urgent reform of performance management processes and outcomes, and action to tackle excessive working hours and workload.

In a message to members in the Senior Civil Service, Thirlby said: “There continues to be no real change in Senior Civil Service pay nor have the fundamental issues and challenges identified in successive SSRB reports been addressed.

“We remain extremely concerned that we are at a tipping point for the SCS, particularly in light of the lack of a business case or financial response by government to the critical pay issues.”

Writing for Civil Service World, Thirlby further criticised the lack of progress SCS pay reform: “Two years ago, I described the pace of change as glacial, but today I think a better gauge of speed would be the rotation of Venus – the only planet in the solar system where a day lasts longer than a year.”

She went on to argue that the government “know the problem, they know the solution, but they lack the political ambition to solve it.”