Former cabinet secretary says £200k-a-year job is ‘massively underpaid’

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Louise Thomas

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Former cabinet secretary Lord Gus O’Donnell has said the £200,000-a-year salary for the head of the civil service is “massively underpaid”.

Lord O’Donnell is involved in the process of hiring Simon Case’s successor after the current cabinet secretary announced he will stand down at the end of the year on health grounds.

Lord O’Donnell told BBC Radio 4’s The Westminster Hour: “It’s massively underpaid in my view - given I’ve been paid a lot more since, to do a lot less.”

Senior civil servants’ salary is set based on recommendations from the independent Senior Salaries Review Body.

The cabinet secretary acts as the senior policy adviser to the prime minister and is responsible for the efficient running of government.

Mr Case was diagnosed with a neurological condition last year, and said that “whilst the spirit remains willing, the body is not”.

His resignation came following reports of tensions at the heart of No 10 between Mr Case and Sir Keir’s chief of staff Sue Gray, who quit the role this weekend.

Lord O’Donnell said the person who replaced Mr Case would need to have a “good relationship” with the prime minister’s chief of staff.

Tony Blair appointed Lord O’Donnell as cabinet secretary in 2005 where he earned a reputation for smoothing tensions at the highest level of government.

In his time he had floated ideas about open primaries, which encourage people without political affiliations to stand for Parliament, and the reform of the House of Lords – even though he is now a member.

He stepped down in 2011, under the David Cameron-led coalition government.

On Sunday it emerged that Sir Keir’s chief of staff, Ms Gray, will take up a new role in government after admitting she had become a “distraction”, including over revelations of her £170,000 salary - which is more than the prime minister.

The outgoing chief of staff said her decision to step down was a result of “intense commentary” around her position, admitting it risked becoming a “distraction to the government’s vital work of change”.