Top civil servant Sir Tom Scholar’s sacking cost Treasury £457,000
Treasury accounts show numerous ministers also received severance payments amid last year’s spate of resignations.
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Your support makes all the difference.The controversial sacking of top Treasury civil servant Sir Tom Scholar cost the Government £457,000 in severance and other payments.
Sir Tom was dismissed as the Treasury’s permanent secretary in September 2022, just as Kwasi Kwarteng took over as chancellor.
The move was criticised at the time given Sir Tom’s long experience at the department, and economists and former civil servants have subsequently said his dismissal contributed to the market’s negative reaction to Mr Kwarteng’s mini-budget.
The Treasury’s annual accounts, published on Thursday, reveal that Sir Tom received a £335,000 severance payment on his dismissal as permanent secretary, along with £122,000 in annual leave adjustments, payments in lieu of notice and other payments.
Asked about the payments, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Obviously, there are laws that need to be followed at all times when coming up with agreements on severance pay.”
The accounts also show the extent of severance payments made to ministers in the wake of last year’s mass resignations.
Among those to receive severance payments was Chris Pincher, who resigned as deputy chief whip in June 2022 over allegations he groped two men at the Carlton Club.
Mr Pincher received a £7,920 severance payment after stepping down.
The Commons Standards Committee recommended earlier in July that Mr Pincher be suspended from the House for eight weeks after upholding the allegations and finding he had damaged the reputation of the Commons.
Thursday is the last day for Mr Pincher, who remains MP for Tamworth, to lodge an appeal against the committee’s findings, but the summer recess means even if he does not appeal, MPs will not be able to approve his suspension until September.
Former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss both received £18,660 after resigning, while former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng received £16,876.
Rishi Sunak received a payment of £16,876 after resigning as chancellor in July 2022, but later repaid this amount.
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “After the mess the Tories have left our country in, they should be hanging their heads in embarrassment, not walking away with an enormous payoff.
“At a time when people up and down the country are struggling to pay their mortgages and put food on the table, it shows a staggering lack of shame for them to accept this money, but is exactly what we’ve come to expect from a bunch of Tories who only care about themselves.”
It is frankly insulting that whilst people struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, those responsible for their financial hardship are being showered with tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' cash
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper called for the payouts to be given back.
She said: “This is a slap in the face for all those who have seen their mortgages soar because of Truss and Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-budget.
“It is frankly insulting that whilst people struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, those responsible for their financial hardship are being showered with tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ cash.
“If any of these disgraced former Conservative ministers had a shred of integrity left they would hand these payouts back.”
Ministers are entitled to a “loss-of-office” payment amounting to a quarter of their ministerial salary if they leave their role and are not appointed to a new one within three weeks, providing they are aged under 65.
The amounts paid out are listed in each department’s annual report. Not all the reports have been published yet, but those released so far show ministerial severance payments amounted to at least £319,287 last year.
Ministers do not have to take the severance payment, and can choose to repay it if appointed to another role after three weeks.