Official Report search · Parliament Workbench

Chamber

Meeting of the Parliament 17 November 2011

17 Nov 2011 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Public Sector

Scanlon, Mary Con Highlands and Islands Watch on SPTV

I would like to give some examples so that I can put the member right.

A nurse with a salary at retirement of £34,000 would receive a pension of £23,000 if the reforms were introduced; under the current scheme, they would receive £17,000. A teacher with a salary at retirement of £38,000 would receive £25,000 under the proposed scheme; under the current scheme, they would receive £19,000. A hospital porter with a salary at retirement of £14,600 would receive pension benefits of £12,000 under the new scheme, as opposed to £9,000 in the existing scheme.

Perhaps Labour is going on strike because some people will receive less. A senior civil servant, of whom there are many, with a salary of more than £100,000 would receive £37,000 under the new proposals compared with £44,000 at present. The hospital porter’s pension increases, whereas that of the top civil servant is reduced. The lowest paid and people who are 10 years from retirement will be protected and public sector pensions will remain far better than those in the private sector.

It is worth noting that the settlement will not require further negotiation for a generation. The Government is not proposing any increase in the total employee scheme contribution rates in addition to the proposed 3.2 percentage points already announced.

We value the contribution of the public sector, but it is worth comparing public sector pensions with those in the private sector, which is so critical to the recovery of our economy. After the proposed reforms, public sector pensions will still be among the best, with a guaranteed pension that very few in the private sector could ever dream of.

In February this year, an Audit Scotland report highlighted the differences in contribution rates and levels among public sector schemes. There is no doubt that the Scottish Government will have to tackle the issue soon. I welcome the last line of the Scottish Government’s amendment—it is probably the only line that I agree with.

The Scottish Conservatives encourage constructive debate and chose this subject for debate as there needs to be an open and honest discussion as well as a more realistic approach to public sector pensions. The Prime Minister has given a commitment to members of Parliament at Westminster that they should face exactly the same changes to their pensions as those imposed on public sector workers.

We should remember that, without reform, public sector workers would retire much earlier than private sector workers. Is that fair? Two thirds of private sector workers are not even members of any pension scheme.

The taxpayer contributes three times more to civil service employees’ pensions than the average private sector employer pays into its employees’ pensions. Is it right and fair that private sector employees contribute through taxation to a pension scheme that is far more generous than they could ever dream of?

Search Hansard contributions

Meeting of the Parliament 17 November 2011

In the same item of business