Scottish LibDems’ leader Tavish Scott proposed the cut – intended to help balance the budget during a tight squeeze on public finances – as part of a package of measures that would ensure his party’s support for the Scottish Government’s Budget, which has to be passed by Parliament next month.
The LibDems have calculated the bill for senior Scottish public sector workers taking home more than £80,000 per year is £600million.
A 5% pay cut for the highest paid staff in health boards, councils, universities, Government agencies and quangos would save £30m, the party estimates. Mr Scott said there were 1200 people in the NHS alone earning more than £100,000.
Mr Swinney said Scottish Ministers have already set an example by taking a pay freeze, which will also apply to senior civil servants and the highest paid people across the public sector who come under the Government’s remit.
“I will be reporting back to Cabinet, and further announcements will follow in due course,” said Mr Swinney.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article