...but Bank of England staff are raking it in

BANK of England officials enjoyed a pay bonanza as they worked from home during the Covid pandemic, figures reveal.

The number of staff members earning more than £80,000 increased 8.9 per cent – from 988 to 1,076 – between 2019/20 and 2020/21.

And the number on more than £150,000 increased by 6.9 per cent, from 87 to 93. By comparison, the Prime Minister takes home £157,000 a year.

Despite the fact that lockdown has long since ended, Bank of England officials still only have to go into the office one day a week.

Governor Andrew Bailey takes home almost £500,000. Including pension benefits, he earned £575,000 in 2020/21. On Monday, he was criticised by Tory MPs for warning of ‘apocalyptic’ food price rises at the same time as admitting he felt ‘a bit helpless’ in the face of global pressures.

The UK went into lockdown near the end of March 2020, and even after it was lifted the Bank told staff they had to be in the office for only one day a week.

It emerged this week that some members of the Bank’s monetary policy committee are setting interest rates over video link even though it scrapped WFH guidance months ago. Details of Bank of England salaries are contained in its annual reports.

In 2019/20, all six governors, 20 executive directors and 962 other members of staff earned more than £80,000 – making a total of 988 people. A year later, the same was true of 1,050 other members of staff – a total of 1,076.

When it comes to those on more than £150,000 a year in 2019/20, this salary was enjoyed by six governors, 17 executive directors and 64 other members of staff – a total of 87. A year later this had increased to 93.

The Bank of England declined to comment on the salaries.

It came as it was revealed that DVLA staff have been awarded ‘outrageous’ bonuses amid the shambles over delays in processing driving licences.

Employees were handed nearly £2.2 million in ‘performance payments’ for the past financial year, according to figures slipped out by the Department for Transport.

The perks came despite fury at the massive backlogs and delays in issuing and renewing driving licences, which have been causing misery for thousands of Britons.

Tory MP David Jones told MailOnline it was ‘outrageous’ that staff had been handed bonuses for ‘staying at home and not dealing with applications’.

‘Outrageous DVLA bonuses’