Revealed: DH civil servants' performance related pay

Thirty-six senior civil servants shared a total of £381,664 of performance related pay last year, with 410 other civil servants sharing £398,868.

The figures emerged after a Parliamentary question by Labour MP Justin Madders, which was answered by health minister Philip Dunne.

Since 2012 more than £4m has been paid out to civil servants through performance related incentives, though the number of civil servants receiving performance awards has dropped from its peak in 2012 (see table below).

Mr Dunne said: “Non-consolidated performance related pay is only paid to reward excellence, for example to recognise and incentivise those responsible for delivering high quality public services and savings to the taxpayer. These one-off payments are not pensionable.”

End of year performance related payments relate to performance in the previous 12 months.

The DH was criticied earlier this year after it announced plans to recruit 200 new staff – just weeks after it confirmed 538 civil servants would lose their jobs under its cost cutting programme.

After the 2015 autumn statement, the DH was forced to make savings of 30 per cent by 2020. It is planning to relocate from Whitehall to 39 Victoria Street, centralising staff from three separate offices.

Performance related pay at the Department of Health