Prime minister says there will be no pay increases for senior civil servants over the next year

Responding to the 32nd Report of the Review Body on Senior Salaries (SSRB), Gordon Brown confirmed there would be no pay increases for senior civil servants. He did not accept the SSRB's recommendation their base salary should be increased to £61,500.

The Government has accepted the Review Body's recommendations that there should be no increase in the senior military pay scales for 2010-11. It has also accepted its recommendation that the salaries for the judiciary should remain unchanged.

For very senior NHS managers, the Government has accepted the Review Body's recommendation that there should be no increase in base pay for those whose current salary is £81,800 or more, and no increase in the non-consolidated pay pot. But it has not accepted the Review Body's specific recommendations that there should be a 2.25% increase in base pay for those whose total salary is less than £80,000, and that there should be an increase in base pay so that the total salary of those currently paid between £80,000 and £81,799 rises to £81,800.

All paid ministers will also waive any increase in their pay as an MP to which they are entitled.

In a statement, Brown said: "It is important in the present economic climate that senior staff in the public sector show leadership in the exercise of pay restraint.

"These tough decisions complement existing measures to reduce the cost of the Civil Service and protect frontline services."