Tory Vow To End Hefty Taxpayer-Funded Payouts

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A cap would be introduced to curb hefty six-figure redundancy pay-offs for public sector bosses the Tories have promised, if they are returned to office in May.

The party will pledge in its election manifesto to impose a £95,000 limit on payments in the public sector, according to Conservative Treasury Minister Priti Patel.

The move comes in the wake of a string of controversial taxpayer-funded golden goodbyes.

These include severance payments of more than £450,000 in the Civil Service, £500,000 in the NHS, and £1m in the BBC.

Latest figures show the national average redundancy payout is £13,396.

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Gallery: Big Public Sector Payouts

George Entwistle, former director general of the BBC Paid £475,000 after just 54 days in the job

Mark Byford, former deputy director-general of the BBC Pay-off of £949,000

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Caroline Thomson, ex-chief BBC operating officer Paid £670,000

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Katherine Kerswell, former managing director of Kent Council Paid £420,000 and later given civil service job

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Michael Lockwood, chief executive of Harrow Council Given £168,000 when role made redundant, then rehired to same position

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Under the Conservative plan, public sector staff earning less than £27,000 will be exempt from the cap in order to protect the small number of low-paid, long-serving public servants who might otherwise have been hit.

Latest figures show the average redundancy payout is £13,396.

Ms Patel told Sky News: "This is a clear commitment by the Conservative Party, for our next manifesto, to bring an end to this culture where people who are highly paid in the public sector receive these automatic redundancy payments that are extremely high, compensation payments and pensions pots, that are funded by hard-working taxpayers."

The Minister said the cap would not apply to MPs losing their seat at the next election, as they were regulated under a different system operated by the parliamentary watchdog.

Members failing to be re-elected at the May poll will receive a resettlement grant based on length of service, up to a maximum of six months salary - £33,530 based on current pay.

Labour's Shadow Health Minister Jamie Reed argued the Conservatives should have acted sooner to tackle the issue of redundancy payouts

He said: "David Cameron can't get away from the fact that this horse has already bolted.

"He wasted £1.6bn on redundancy payouts to NHS managers as part of his reckless reorganisation.

"Frontline NHS staff found it galling that 4,000 managers who received pay-offs are now back in NHS jobs."

And unions point out the proposed cap will not apply retrospectively, meaning that those who have already received pay-offs will be able to keep them.

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