‘Chronic’ low pay hurting civil service staff morale and recruitment, say MPs

Public accounts committee finds real-terms median pay has decreased for most Whitehall staff since 2013

Morale in the civil service is being hit by chronic low pay, and Whitehall is increasingly unable to keep staff because salaries have declined in real terms for a decade, the public accounts committee has warned.

The cross-party watchdog, chaired by the Labour MP Meg Hillier, said there were “chronic pay issues” in Whitehall. Civil service pay “at almost all levels has seen a long-term decline, with median pay decreasing in real terms for most staff since 2013”, it said.