Correspondence

The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister letter to SSRB (HTML)

Published 15 July 2026

Lea Paterson CBE
Chair, Senior Salaries Review Body
1st Floor, Caxton House,
6-12 Tothill Street,
London
SW1H 9NA

15 July 2026

Dear Lea,

2027/28 REMIT OF THE SENIOR SALARIES REVIEW BODY (SSRB)

I am writing to confirm the SSRB’s remit for the Senior Civil Service (SCS) for the upcoming 2027/28 pay round.

This Government continues to greatly value the SSRB’s key role in providing independent and evidence-based recommendations. It is important that we continue to work constructively together as we build on the progress of the foundational reforms aimed at driving performance and delivery. These were implemented in 2026/27, supporting us to ‘move fast and fix things’ in a Future Civil Service. This Government continues to strive to ensure that the SCS is equipped to efficiently deliver vital, high-quality public service.

We were pleased to be able to accept, in part, your recommendations for the SCS for 2026/27 pay awards. I write to you now to formally commence the next pay round for 2027/28. As part of this, we will provide our departmental evidence as usual in the Autumn, setting out the funds available to the Cabinet Office for 2027 to 2028. We will also provide the recruitment and retention context alongside earnings data, and our strategy for an SCS that is able to deliver for the Government with purpose and the pride that comes with high performance.

We remain committed to bringing 2027/28 pay announcements forward further. That is why we are launching this pay round one month earlier than the previous pay round. I would be grateful if you could support an earlier pay announcement by submitting your report at the earliest point that allows you to give due consideration to the relevant evidence. I recognise that changing the timeline from recent years will present challenges for you, but I am sure you also share the Government’s belief in the importance of returning to more timely annual pay processes. To enable you to submit your report earlier, our department will aim to meet your deadlines and bring the evidence process forward.

This year, the Government’s evidence will continue to set out our strategic priorities for the SCS workforce. This includes setting out our long-term approach that builds on our performance-related

progression reforms, which was recommended by the SSRB in your 2026 Report and accepted by the Government, and has already started to be delivered.

Any specific proposals for the Permanent Secretary group will also be shared with the SSRB. Where any recommendations by the SSRB are made in relation to this group, these will be additionally considered by the Permanent Secretary Remuneration Committee alongside our standard processes.

As has been agreed in recent years’ Government evidence to the SSRB, employees of the Government Commercial Organisation (GCO) who are members of the SCS or are SCS equivalents fall within the remit of the SSRB. Information about this group, as well as proposals on their remuneration will be shared with the SSRB this year, subject to the recommendations of the GCO Remuneration Committee.

I look forward to receiving your report in due course.

Yours sincerely,

Rt Hon. Darren Jones MP

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister