Victory over public sector fat cats’ pay

FAT cat pay and perks in the public sector will be slashed following a Daily Mail exposé.

Cabinet ministers will be asked today to take the axe to six-figure pay-offs and pensions in a move that could save the taxpayer billions of pounds.

Sick pay could also be slashed and spending on agency staff reduced.

The proposals are going before a Whitehall public sector expenditure committee overseen by Chancellor George Osborne and Treasury chief Greg Hands.

A week-long Daily Mail investigation exposed how senior staff in town halls, police forces, universities and the NHS had been pocketing huge sums with little justification.

The details were obtained by filing almost 6,000 questions under the Freedom of Information Act, which is under threat by ministers claiming it is ‘too costly’ to oversee.

The crackdown on public sector pay – ahead of what are expected to be deep cuts in the Chancellor’s spending review next week – could include a cap on mega payoffs for bosses, changes to guaranteed wage rises and reviews into sickness pay and generous early retirement pensions.

Lavish pay-offs for fat cat bosses, which cost taxpayers £6.5billion between 2011 and 2014, are a particular target. The Tory manifesto included a plan to limit severance payments to £95,000 but insiders say there is now scope to go even further.

Last night, a senior Government source said: ‘Ministers are being challenged to look at exit payments, agency workers and people taking early retirement to save money.’

One fat cat was NHS boss Tricia Hart, who picked up a £1.26million pay deal.