Kirsty Williams has called on the Welsh Labour-Plaid government to review its spending following the publication of figures that show that over the last three years, £2,321,560 was spent on bonuses for Senior Civil Servants.
She said that in the light of the significant pressures on public finances and with the economy still in the early days of recovery, the Welsh government must look at every aspect of its spending. In 2009, the Northern Ireland Assembly announced that Senior Civil Servants would not receive a bonus.
Kirsty said: “We are facing difficult financial times ahead. As the former Chief Secretary to the Treasury kindly reminded the incoming government, ‘there’s no money left.’
“Over the last three years, £2.3 million was spent on paying the bonuses of Senior Civil Servants. When thousands of people in Wales are losing their jobs and our finances in a dire state, it is not appropriate for Senior Civil Servants to be receiving bonuses.
“In 2009, Northern Ireland decided to stop paying Senior Civil Service bonuses as they understood the difficult financial challenges ahead. While it is admirable that the Welsh Permanent Secretary did not take her bonus for last year, her colleagues did take a bonus cheque home. While I value Senior Civil Servants’ commitment and dedication to their work, we are facing difficult times ahead and money should be more effectively spent and that’s why the Labour-Plaid government must be scrutinising every pound of money spent.
“Welsh tax payers must be reassured that their hard earned money is being spent effectively and targeted to make sure that the services they rely on, like health and education, are protected.”
Related posts:
One Response
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.
Continuing the Discussion