The Crown Prosecution Service
Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23

Remuneration and staff report

The Remuneration and staff report provides information on the CPS’ remuneration policy and amounts paid to the senior management team. It also provides information on other staff related matters, such as fair pay, overall staff numbers and costs, and Civil Service Pensions.

Service contracts

The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 requires Civil Service appointments to be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. The Recruitment Principles published by the Civil Service Commission specify the circumstances when appointments may be made otherwise.

Except as noted below, the officials covered by this report hold appointments which are open-ended. Early termination, other than for misconduct, would result in the individual receiving compensation as set out in the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.

Further information about the work of the Civil Service Commission can be found at https://civilservicecommission.org.uk.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Max Hill KC, has been appointed for a period of five years from 1 November 2018 to 31 October 2023.

Non-Executive Board Members

All the Non-executive board members have fixed term contracts as follows:

Either party may terminate the contract for any reason before the expiry of the fixed period by providing three month’s written notice. If the appointment is terminated early by mutual consent no notice will be given by the CPS. No compensation is payable to Non-Executive Board Members for early termination of their contract.

Remuneration policy

The remuneration of CPS senior management (i.e. Senior Civil Servants and Senior Legal Managers) is set according to guidance provided by the Cabinet Office, with reference to recommendations made by the Review Body on Senior Salaries. The Review Body provides independent advice to the Prime Minister and the Lord Chancellor, among others, on the remuneration of holders of judicial office, Senior Civil Servants and other such public appointments as may be specified. The Review Body may, if requested, also advise the Prime Minister on Peers’ allowances and on the pay, pensions and allowances of Ministers and others whose pay is determined by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975. In reaching its recommendations, the Review Body is to have regard to the following considerations:

• The need to recruit, retain, motivate and, where relevant, promote suitably able and qualified people to exercise their different responsibilities.
• Regional/local variations in labour markets and their effects on the recruitment, retention and where relevant, promotion of staff.
• Government policies for improving public services including the requirement on departments to meet the output targets for the delivery of departmental services.
• The funds available to departments as set out in the Government’s departmental expenditure limits.
• The Government’s inflation target.
• Evidence received about wider economic considerations and the affordability of its recommendations.

Further information about the Review Body can be found at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/review-body-on-senior-salaries/about

The Nominations, Leadership and Remuneration Committee (NLRC) acts as the remuneration committee for the CPS senior management team. In 2022-23 this committee was made up of the following:

Caroline Wayman, Non-Executive Board Member, Chair until May 2022, Monica Burch, Lead Non-Executive Board Member and Chair from June 2022 to March 2023, Kathryn Stone, Non‐Executive Board Member, Chair from March 2023, Max Hill KC, Director of Public Prosecutions, Rebecca Lawrence, Chief Executive Officer and Sue Hemming, Interim Chief Executive Officer from 26 September 2022.

The Committee is tasked with considering the relative contributions of the CPS’ senior employees, paying due regard to completed performance reports, consistency and scope of objectives and the impact of external factors. It will then provide assurance with respect to pay outcomes in line with Cabinet Office guidance.

The pay settlement for the Senior Civil Service (SCS) from 1 April 2022 adhered to government policy which allowed for a 2% consolidated pay award for eligible employees. A further 1% of the SCS paybill was available to address pay anomalies. Additionally, non-consolidated Performance Related Pay (PRP) awards were considered. A budget of 3.3% of the total SCS pay bill was available for PRP awards. The actual distribution of PRP payments was 2.65% of the SCS pay bill.

Remuneration (including salary) and pension entitlements

The following sections provide details of the remuneration and pension interests of the most senior management of the CPS. This is considered to be the membership of the CPS Board and the Executive Group.

Remuneration (salary, benefits in kind, and pensions) (Audited)

fye = full year equivalent salary

Salary

‘Salary’ includes gross salary; overtime; reserved rights to London weighting or London allowances; recruitment and retention allowances; private office allowances and any other allowance to the extent that it is subject to UK taxation. This report is based on accrued payments made by the CPS and thus recorded in these accounts.

Benefits in kind

The monetary value of benefits in kind covers any benefits provided by the CPS and treated by HM Revenue & Customs as a taxable emolument. Where expenses are for home to office travel, this is assessed by HM Revenue & Customs as constituting a benefit in kind. The tax and National Insurance contributions due on the benefits in kind are paid by the CPS.

Bonuses

Bonuses are based on performance levels attained and are made as part of the appraisal process. Bonuses are reported in the year in which they become payable to the individual. Unless otherwise indicated, the bonuses reported in 2022-23 relate to performance in 2021-22 and the comparative bonuses reported for 2021-22 relate to performance in 2020-21.

Pension benefits (Audited)

Dawn Brodrick chose not to be covered by the Civil Service pension arrangements during the reporting year. No pension contributions were made on their behalf to other pension providers.

Cash Equivalent Transfer Values (CETV)

A Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) is the actuarially assessed capitalised value of the pension scheme benefits accrued by a member at a particular point in time. The benefits valued are the member’s accrued benefits and any contingent spouse’s pension payable from the scheme. A CETV is a payment made by a pension scheme or arrangement to secure pension benefits in another pension scheme or arrangement when the member leaves a scheme and chooses to transfer the benefits accrued in their former scheme. The pension figures shown relate to the benefits that the individual has accrued as a consequence of their total membership of the pension scheme, not just their service in a senior capacity to which disclosure applies.

The figures include the value of any pension benefit in another scheme or arrangement which the member has transferred to the Civil Service pension arrangements. They also include any additional pension benefit accrued to the member as a result of their buying additional pension benefits at their own cost. CETVs are worked out in accordance with The Occupational Pension Schemes (Transfer Values) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 and do not take account of any actual or potential reduction to benefits resulting from Lifetime Allowance Tax which may be due when pension benefits are taken.

Real Increase in CETV

This reflects the increase in CETV that is funded by the employer. It does not include the increase in accrued pension due to inflation, contributions paid by the employee (including the value of any benefits transferred from another pension scheme or arrangement) and uses common market valuation factors for the start and end of the period.

Fair pay (Audited)

Reporting bodies are required to disclose the relationship between the remuneration of the highest-paid director in their organisation and the median remuneration of the organisation’s workforce.

The banded remuneration of the highest-paid director in the CPS in the financial year 2022‐23 was £225-230k (2021-22: £215-220k). In 2022-23, no (2021-22: no) employee received remuneration in excess of the highest-paid director.

The average percentage change in salary from the previous financial year in respect of the employees of the CPS taken as a whole, was an increase of 1.81% to £44,890 (2021-22: £44,090). The percentage change in salary for the highest paid director, based on the mid-point of the relevant banded remuneration was 4.60% (2021-22: 0.00%).

Pay includes salary, non-consolidated performance-related pay, and benefits-in-kind. It does not include severance payments, employer pension contributions and the cash equivalent transfer value of pensions.

The ratios for 2022-23 have increased compared to 2021-22. This is in part due to the highest paid director receiving a pay increase in line with CPS’ pay, reward and progression policies, resulting in a change in banded remuneration for 2022-23. Additionally, there was increased recruitment of administrative grade staff in operation delivery roles who support the CPS in delivering justice.

The CPS believes these ratios are consistent with its pay, reward and progression policies for its employees taken as a whole, as staff are remunerated in pay ranges that are consistent with the wider Civil Service and reflect the levels of seniority at which roles are required to be performed. The following figures show the breakdown between the salary and bonus elements of total pay and the stated percentile points.

Remuneration ranged from £20k to £225-230k (2021-22: £19k to £215-£220k)

Civil Service pensions

Pension benefits are provided through the Civil Service pension arrangements. From 1 April 2015 a new pension scheme for civil servants was introduced – the Civil Servants and Others Pension Scheme or alpha, which provides benefits on a career average basis with a normal pension age equal to the member’s State Pension Age (or 65 if higher). From that date all newly appointed civil servants and the majority of those already in service joined alpha. Prior to that date, civil servants participated in the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). The PCSPS has four sections: 3 providing benefits on a final salary basis (classic, premium or classic plus) with a normal pension age of 60; and one providing benefits on a whole career basis (nuvos) with a normal pension age of 65.

These statutory arrangements are unfunded with the cost of benefits met by monies voted by Parliament each year. Pensions payable under classic, premium, classic plus, nuvos and alpha are increased annually in line with Pensions Increase legislation. Existing members of the PCSPS who were within 10 years of their normal pension age on 1 April 2012 remained in the PCSPS after 1 April 2015. Those who were between 10 years and 13 years and 5 months from their normal pension age on 1 April 2012 switch into alpha sometime between 1 June 2015 and 1 February 2022. Because the Government plans to remove discrimination identified by the courts in the way that the 2015 pension reforms were introduced for some members, eligible members with relevant service between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 may be entitled to different pension benefits in relation to that period (and this may affect the Cash Equivalent Transfer Values shown in this report – see below). All members who switch to alpha have their PCSPS benefits ‘banked’, with those with earlier benefits in one of the final salary sections of the PCSPS having those benefits based on their final salary when they leave alpha. (The pension figures quoted for officials show pension earned in PCSPS or alpha – as appropriate. Where the official has benefits in both the PCSPS and alpha the figure quoted is the combined value of their benefits in the two schemes.) Members joining from October 2002 may opt for either the appropriate defined benefit arrangement or a defined contribution (money purchase) pension with an employer contribution (partnership pension account).

Employee contributions are salary-related and range between 4.6% and 8.05% for members of classic, premium, classic plus, nuvos and alpha. Benefits in classic accrue at the rate of 1/80th of final pensionable earnings for each year of service. In addition, a lump sum equivalent to three years initial pension is payable on retirement. For premium, benefits accrue at the rate of 1/60th of final pensionable earnings for each year of service. Unlike classic, there is no automatic lump sum. classic plus is essentially a hybrid with benefits for service before 1 October 2002 calculated broadly as per classic and benefits for service from October 2002 worked out as in premium. In nuvos a member builds up a pension based on his pensionable earnings during their period of scheme membership. At the end of the scheme year (31 March) the member’s earned pension account is credited with 2.3% of their pensionable earnings in that scheme year and the accrued pension is uprated in line with Pensions Increase legislation. Benefits in alpha build up in a similar way to nuvos, except that the accrual rate in 2.32%. In all cases members may opt to give up (commute) pension for a lump sum up to the limits set by the Finance Act 2004.

The partnership pension account is an occupational defined contribution pension arrangement which is part of the Legal & General Mastertrust. The employer makes a basic contribution of between 8% and 14.75% (depending on the age of the member). The employee does not have to contribute, but where they do make contributions, the employer will match these up to a limit of 3% of pensionable salary (in addition to the employer’s basic contribution). Employers also contribute a further 0.5% of pensionable salary to cover the cost of centrally-provided risk benefit cover (death in service and ill health retirement).

The accrued pension quoted is the pension the member is entitled to receive when they reach pension age, or immediately on ceasing to be an active member of the scheme if they are already at or over pension age. Pension age is 60 for members of classic, premium and classic plus, 65 for members of nuvos, and the higher of 65 or State Pension Age for members of alpha. (The pension figures quoted for officials show pension earned in PCSPS or alpha – as appropriate. Where the official has benefits in both the PCSPS and alpha the figure quoted is the combined value of their benefits in the two schemes, but note that part of that pension may be payable from different ages.)

Further details about the Civil Service pension arrangements can be found at the website www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk

Reporting of Civil Service and other compensation schemes – exit packages (Audited)

The figures shown in the table below are for 2022-23. Figures shown in brackets are for the prior year, 2021-22.

Redundancy and other departure costs have been paid in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, a statutory scheme made under the Superannuation Act 1972. Exit costs are accounted for in full in the year of departure. Where the CPS has agreed early retirements, the additional costs are met by the CPS and not by the Civil Service pension scheme. Ill-health retirement costs are met by the pension scheme and are not included in the table.

Staff costs, staff numbers and composition as at 31 March 2023

Number of Senior Civil Service staff (or equivalent) by band (Audited)

Staff composition table

Average number of persons employed for 2022-23 (Audited)

Staff costs for 2022-23 (Audited)

Further details of staff costs can be found in Note 3 to the Accounts.

The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) and the Civil Servants and Other Pensions Scheme (CSOPS) – known as ‘alpha’ – are unfunded multi-employer defined benefit schemes in which the CPS is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities. The scheme actuary valued the PCSPS as at 31 March 2016. Details can be found in the resource accounts of the Cabinet Office: Civil Superannuation (www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/about-us/resource-accounts/).

For 2022-23, employers’ contributions of £77,922,208 were payable to the PCSPS (2021-22: £73,729,215) at one of four rates in the range 26.6% to 30.3% of pensionable pay, based on salary bands. The Scheme Actuary reviews employer contributions usually every four years following a full scheme valuation. The contribution rates are set to meet the cost of the benefits accruing during 2022-23 to be paid when the member retires and not the benefits paid during this period to existing pensioners.

Employees can opt to open a partnership pension account, a stakeholder pension with an employer contribution. Employers’ contributions of £400,422 (2021-22: £381,473) were paid to one or more of the panel of three appointed stakeholder pension providers. Employer contributions are age-related and ranged from 8% to 14.75% (2021-22: 8% to 14.75%) of pensionable pay. Employers also match employee contributions up to 3% of pensionable pay. In addition, employer contributions of £15,588 0.5% (2021-22: £15,117, 0.5%) of pensionable pay were payable to the PCSPS to cover the cost of the future provision of lump sum benefits on death in service or ill health retirement of these employees.

Contributions due to the partnership pension providers at the reporting period date were £34,136 (2021-22: £34,109). Contributions prepaid at that date were £Nil (2021-22: £Nil). 9 individuals (2021-22: 4) retired early on ill-health grounds; the total additional accrued pension liabilities in the year amounted to £280,495 (2021-22: £54,258).

Staff policies

The CPS was one of the first government departments to successfully renew its Disability Confident Leader status. This required the CPS to demonstrate that the right employment policies and procedures are in place to be fully inclusive of disabled people not just at recruitment but also in retention and development. This includes the ability to:

• Actively attract and recruit disabled people to help fill opportunities (including jobs, apprenticeships, internships, work experience);
• Provide a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process and offer interviews to all disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job;
• Offer flexibility when assessing people and proactively offer and make reasonable adjustments so disabled job applicants have the best opportunity to demonstrate that they can do the job;
• Provide an environment that is inclusive and accessible for staff, clients and customers ensuring all employees have sufficient disability awareness;
• Support employees to manage their disabilities or health conditions and ensure there are no barriers to the development and progression of disabled staff;
• Ensure managers are aware of how they can support staff who experience mental or physical ill health or are absent from work;
• Value and listen to feedback from disabled staff and provide mentoring, coaching, buddying and other support networks.

The undertakings relating to recruitment do not override the Civil Service Commissioner Principles and the need for selection on merit through fair and open competition. Applicants who would be selected for interview on the basis of additional sift criteria are not displaced by disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria. Instead the numbers invited for interview are increased by the inclusion of those disabled candidates.

Our Disability Confident status is valid until February 2024, at which time we will be seeking to renew this accreditation.

Diversity and inclusion

Being a fair, diverse, and inclusive employer is important for the CPS to enable us to represent the public we serve and to support everyone in being themselves at work. We are proud that we are making good progress in this important area through recruiting and developing a diverse workforce and promoting an inclusive and supportive working environment. We have an excellent track record in attracting and retaining a strong and diverse workforce – we are above Civil Service average for women at most grades, including our SCS cadre and our representation of ethnic minorities, also compares favourably with the Civil Service as a whole. We have been recognised in a range of ways for our work on diversity, faith equality and inclusion, including being accredited as a Disability Confident Leader and a Top Employer for Race. In 2022, we were listed in the Top Ten employers for Working Families for the 6th consecutive year.

Declaration

Declaration rates indicate the number of CPS employees who have chosen to provide their personal information for the characteristic indicated. The declaration rates for Q4 of 2022-23 for the characteristics listed below are as follows:

These figures are taken from our HR system, where declaration is voluntary except for gender and age.

Gender

The gender makeup of the CPS has been stable for many years and the CPS has had a consistent female representation of over 66% for at least 10 years, currently standing at 67%. Women are also in the majority at more senior levels, but to a lesser degree – women make up 55% of Senior Civil Service (SCS) and equivalent grades in CPS. This is reflected across the wider Civil Service, where women make up a higher percentage of junior grades than they do of more senior grades.

Ethnicity

The CPS has worked hard to address inequalities in the organisation over the last 21 years, and is proud to be an open and diverse organisation. However, we recognise that there are still very real challenges and we are determined to continue working to ensure that everyone is able to achieve their full potential.

23% of the CPS workforce is declared as being from an ethnic minority background (2021-22: 21%). This compares favourably with both the wider Civil Service, in which 14.3% of civil servants had declared as ethnic minority, as of 10 May 2022, and with the population of England & Wales, of which 18.2% declared an ethnic minority background in the 2021 National Census Survey. There is a regional variation in our ethnic minority workforce representation and, whilst there is no immediate evidence of significant disparities between our employee profile and those of local communities, the Inclusion Community Engagement Strategy commits CPS areas to reviewing their representation.

Age

25.3% of the CPS workforce is over the age of 55. The challenge for the CPS and its line managers is to recognise and use the skills and experience of all staff to the best effect, meeting training and development needs appropriately to create a fulfilled and happy multigenerational workforce.

Sexual orientation and gender identity

LGBT+ representation across all grades is constant; 4% of all staff, 5% of Grades D and E, and 8% of SCS. Our HR Business Information system now includes the option to use pronoun Mx, as a title for those who do not identify as being of a gender, or for people who simply do not want to be identified by gender.

Socio-economic background

The CPS has been recognised in the Social Mobility Employer Index, the leading authority on employer best practice, as one of the Top 75 employers, ranking at number 36 in the 2022 benchmarking. The Social Mobility Foundation’s Employer Index was established to encourage organisations to become more accessible to individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Questions about the Social Economic background of our employees are now included on our HR Business Information system and our annual People Survey. Better understanding the profile of our workforce will help us continue to remove any barriers to career progression and ensure our people reflect the communities we serve.

Disability

The CPS continue to support staff with disabilities and long-term health conditions. Shining a spotlight on all types of disability, including those that are invisible, working hard to promote a greater awareness and understanding of these conditions.

80% of our staff have declared whether they have a disability or long-term health condition. Workforce disability representation is 12%, with SCS disability representation at 15%. Both are in line with the Civil Service average.

Achievements this year

• Increased declaration for ethnicity (89% to 92%), Disability (78% to 80%) and Sexual Orientation (77% to 82%).
• Increase in the representation of our ethnic minority group employees from 19% to 20%.
• Flexible working practices and the support of line management throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a decline of reported instances of discrimination, bullying and harassment. – according to people survey reports of discrimination remain consistent, whereas instances of reported bullying and harassment have risen by 1%.

Challenges for the future

• We will aim for 90% declaration rates across all protected characteristics.
• Areas will compare their workforce data to local population data and provide plans to address any disproportionality.
• Further work will be undertaken to identify and remove any barriers for those from an ethnic minority group background who are looking to progress into more senior roles. This will also be explored with regards to staff with a disability

Trade union facility time

Under the Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017 (SI 2017 no. 328), the CPS is required to publish information about employees acting as trade union representatives.

During the 2022-23 financial year, 68 employees (71 in 2021-22) acted as relevant union officials with pre-approved facility time. Of these, 2 (8 in 2021-22) spent 0% of their time on trade union facility time and 66 (63 in 2021-22) spent between 1-50% of their time on trade union facility time. The total cost of facility time was £283,036 (£328,315 in 2021-22), which is 0.07% (0.08% in 2021-22) of the total pay bill of £438,416,755 (£399,772,800 in 2021-22). The time spent on paid trade union activities as a percentage of total paid facility time hours was 0% (0% in 2021-22).

Other staff information

Staff engagement

The annual Civil Service People Survey looks at civil servants’ attitudes to, and experience of working in the Civil Service.

The 2022 People Survey ran from 22 September to 31 October. A total of 346,957 people across the Civil Service completed the survey giving an overall response rate of 65%.

The CPS response rate this year was 70% which showed a +1 percentage point (pp) increase on the 2021 survey (69%), and was +4pp higher than the Civil Service.

Employee engagement is a workplace approach designed to ensure that employees are committed to their organisation’s goals and values and are motivated to contribute to organisational success.

The Employee Engagement Index (EEI) is a key metric in measuring employee engagement. Five questions are used in the People Survey to measure employee engagement and combine these responses into a summary index score to determine where they sit on a scale of very disengaged (0%) through to very engaged (100%). This score is referred to as the Employee Engagement Index.

In 2022, the CPS EEI remained at 69%, which is the second highest EEI recorded by CPS since the survey began in 2009 and a full +20pp above the lowest EEI recorded in 2011.

The wider Civil Service EEI reduced –1pp this year to 65%. For a fourth subsequent year, the CPS has exceeded the Civil Service EEI and has a +4pp gap.

The table below provides details of the CPS response rate and EEI for the last 5 years.

Staff turnover

The CPS applies the Cabinet Office guidance on staff turnover to calculate the rate of turnover within the Department.

For a given period, the turnover figure is calculated as the number of leavers within that period divided by the average number of staff in post over the period. Leavers include all leavers within the financial year and the average number of staff in post is calculated using quarterly staff in post data for the respective financial year.

The Cabinet Office guidance on staff turnover can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/854929/Annex_A_-_Turnover_Definition__1___2_.pdf

The table below details the turnover percentage within the CPS for the past five financial years.

Expenditure on temporary staff

Expenditure on consultancy

Consultancy expenditure is reported on a resource basis using accounting data underlying the Financial Statements. This is consistent with the expenditure figures reported in Note 3.

Off payroll engagements

Table 1: Highly paid off-payroll worker engagements as at 31 March 2023, earning £245 per day⁶ or greater

Table 2: Highly paid off-payroll workers engaged at any point during the year ended 31 March 2023, earning £245 per day or greater

Table 3: For any off-payroll engagements of board members, and/or, senior officials with significant financial responsibility, between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023

Sickness absence

There has been an increase in Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) from 7.3 to 8.0 (as at quarter 4 2022-23), against a Civil Service average of 7.9 days.