Staff won’t suffer if MLA pay is cut

STAFF working for members of the Assembly will not have their salaries cut, the Secretary of State said yesterday.

Karen Bradley again signalled her intent to slash MLA pay by 27.5% but said she was still seeking the views of local parties before making a final decision.

However, she said she will not take action on the salaries of their staff, as she did not think they should “suffer” because an Executive has not been formed.

Mrs Bradley told MPS: “I do not intend to take any action with regard to staff salaries. I think it is quite right they should be continuing to be paid because they work incredibly hard for the constituents of the MLAS.”

The Northern Ireland Assembly Members (Pay) Bill would enable Mrs Bradley to make a determination on pay during the period without an Executive, though does not itself make any changes to MLA pay or allowances.

Last year, her predecessor

James Brokenshire commissioned former Assembly chief executive Trevor Reaney to examine the controversial issue of paying MLAS who have now not sat at the Assembly for 14 months. Before Christmas, Mr Reaney recommended the 27.5% cut, a move that would take the standard salary of £49,500 down to £35,888 in two stages.

Mrs Bradley said she was still “minded to follow” the recommendation but said she continued to encourage representations from parties “before bringing forward a determination on wider changes to pay and allowances under this Bill”.