Pay freeze for top public sector staff

• Campbell Gemmell: has rejected a request to forgo bonus

The Scottish Government has revealed that all top doctors, quango chiefs and NHS board members will see no increase in their salary from April, following growing political and public pressure.

The move comes as fresh evidence emerges today that quango chiefs are continuing to ignore a direct plea by ministers for pay restraint, by taking bonuses due to them this year.

In one case, the 100,000-a-year boss of Scotland's main environment watchdog is refusing to waive his own 10,000 bonus, despite being asked to do so by his own chairman.

In response, finance secretary John Swinney is to announce within the next few weeks that all pay will be frozen from the start of the next financial year.

The moves will shave millions of pounds off the public sector pay bill, but the Conservatives said last night that it would "barely scratch the surface". The Tories said the pay freeze would need to be extended to everyone on the state payroll earning more than 18,000 if Scotland was to cope with forthcoming cuts in public spending.

The issue of public sector pay rose to the top of the political agenda last week as SNP ministers unveiled their budget for the next financial year.

It came after Scotland on Sunday revealed that senior managers on NHS boards had enjoyed pay rises of up to 20 per cent this year. On average, pay increases for NHS board members were six per cent, more than double that of nurses.

A Scottish Government spokesman said last night: "Scottish ministers have already taken a pay freeze, which will also apply to senior civil servants. The Scottish Government has agreed to extend that approach to the highest-paid people across the public sector whose pay arrangements come under our control."

Further details of the bumper perks offered to the top earners in quangos can be revealed today, following inquiries by Scotland on Sunday.

Last year Swinney wrote to all quango chief executives asking them to give up at least part of their annual payouts for 2008/09. Swinney insisted that bonuses "should only be used to reward exceptional performance, and called on bosses to consider "giving up some or all of the cash".

But it can now be revealed that some have refused, while others are refusing to say what their decision has been.

Scotland on Sunday has discovered that one boss who is keeping his bonus payments is Campbell Gemmell, the chief executive of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), who has declined a request by his own board to consider waiving an annual bonus for his work in 2008-2009.

SEPA, the country's main environment regulator, said last night the bonus amounted to 10,000. His contract specifies he is entitled to an annual bonus of up to 10 per cent on top of his salary. In the past two years, Gemmell received bonuses amounting to 12,000.

The quango's chairman, David Sigsworth, discussed the question of waiving the bonus with Gemmell last year. However, replying to Swinney in a letter, Sigsworth "confirmed it was Gemmell's intention not to waive this performance-related payment".

A SEPA statement said that Gemmell was "prepared to consider a pay freeze" for the coming financial year.

Along with Gemmell, the chief executive of the Scottish Qualifications Authority, Dr Janet Brown, and the chief executive of Scottish Water, Richard Ackroyd, have confirmed they will take their bonuses in spite of Swinney's call.

Brown is taking a 12,500 bonus on top of her 125,000 salary. "The SQA has indicated to Mr Swinney that Dr Brown will not be waiving her 2008- 2009 bonus," a spokesman said.

Ackroyd has accepted a bonus on top of his 263,000 basic salary. The publicly owned utility offers the chief executive an "incentive potential" of up to 40 per cent of basic salary.

Meanwhile, several other quango chiefs contacted by this newspaper are refusing to say whether they would comply with Swinney's request.

A spokesperson for Scottish Enterprise, which pays out bonuses of up to 10 per cent for senior staff, said the agency was "waiting for guidance" from ministers. In an interview in today's business section, the 220,000 chief executive Lena Wilson says she aims to be "worth every penny".

The chief executive of VisitScotland, the national tourism agency, said: "No decisions have been made so it is difficult and indeed presumptuous to comment on bonuses that haven't or may not be awarded."

In contrast, Highlands and Islands Enterprise chief executive Sandy Cumming declined a bonus and has asked not to be considered for a bonus in 2009-2010. His fellow senior managers have also asked not to be considered for bonus awards.

Damien Yearts, chief executive of Skills Development Scotland, has agreed to rescind his bonus for both last year and this year, and the chief executive of Sport Scotland, Stewart Harris, has foregone his bonus for 2009-2010 at Swinney's request.

A source close to Swinney said last night: "Ministers showed a lead by taking a pay freeze. The momentum will build, and the more who agree to do it, the more people will expect the others to follow ."

The Lib Dems have claimed that if quango bosses earning more than 80,000 were to give up 5 per cent of their salaries, it would save 30 million a year.

Lib Dem finance spokesman Jeremy Purvis said: "It's unacceptable that any high-paid public sector worker should receive a bonus this year."