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that the increases could be brought into effect on 1 January 1990.
In discussion the following main points were raised:
a.
An increase in the pay bill for Ministerial salaries of 7% was highly undesirable at a time when ambulance and other National Health Service workers had been offered a national increase of 6.5% and inflation was projected to fall by the end of 1990 to 5 3/4%. The media would inevitably present the increase in a way intended to damage the Government. yould be presentationally much better to keep the overall
Increase in the Ministerial pay bill to 6.5%.
It
The proposal to give, an additional £1000 to Lords misters, though fully justified, distorted the position. e increase for Cabinet Ministers was under 5%, well below the current inflation figure. This fact was however unlikely to be highlighted in media reports. In the previous year, an increase of just 38 had been portrayed as a significant cash rise.
c.
The poped additional payment for Lords Ministers was wholly inadege, to compensate for the loss of backbench attendance all ages. There was a case for omitting this aspect of the age in return for a firm undertaking to seek a permanent lution to the problem. A separate announcement at ter date of such a solution would not attract the same involved a significant
of media interest, even if it ease in the Lords pay bill.
d. On the other han
issue had been looked at a number of times previosy on two occasions the Top Salaries Review Body
Review Body had rejected, an very plausible grounds, the case for an additional cost allowance for Lords Ministers. The tax aspects were so complicated. It would be unwise therefore to assume at the problem could be resolved quickly.
e. An alternative means of reducing the projected increase in the overall pay bill to 6.5% would be to make an arbitrary reduction in the cash increase for Cabinet or all Ministers. Awarding Ministers an increase in the (farlamentary element of their salary only would, for example bring significant savings.
that the
in the
crease
THE PRIME MINISTER, summing up the discussion, Cabinet entirely endorsed the need for an improve remuneration of Lords Ministers. However, an overal of 7% in the Ministerial pay bill was highly undesirage against the background of the industrial action in the ambulance service and the predicted fall in inflation during 1990. number of options for achieving a lower increase, including deferring the additional payment to Lords Ministers for the th
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