The Crown Prosecution Service
Annual Report and Accounts 2023–2024

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

he 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, Stephen Parkinson, has been appointed for a period of five years from 1 November 2023 to 31 October 2028.

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 2023-24 this committee was made up of the following:

Monica Burch, Lead Non-Executive Board Member, Kathryn Stone, Non-Executive Board Member, Chair from March 2023, Max Hill KC, Director of Public Prosecutions to October 2023, Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions from November 2023

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 2023 adhered to government policy which allowed for a 5.5% consolidated pay award for eligible employees. A further 1% of the SCS pay bill 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 3.17% 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

1. Accrued pension benefits for directors are not included in this table for 2023/24 due to an exceptional delay in the calculation of these figures following the application of the public service pensions remedy ¹¹
2. The value of pension benefits accrued during the year is calculated as (the real increase in pension multiplied by 20) plus (the real increase in any lump sum) less (the contributions made by the individual). The real increases exclude increases due to inflation or any increase or decreases due to a transfer of pension rights.
3. Salary includes £60k compensation in relation to the Business Appointment Rules.
4. Rebecca Lawrence stepped down as Chief Executive Officer on 17 November 2023. Salary for 2023-24 includes £30k for loss of office and £43k for an ex-gratia payment and payment in lieu of notice.
5. Mike Browne was an interim member of staff and was not paid via the CPS payroll and is included in the off-payroll disclosures on page 111.

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 2023-24 relate to performance in 2022-23 and the comparative bonuses reported for 2022-23 relate to performance in 2021-22.

Pension benefits (Audited)

1. CETV at 31 March 2023 is nil where an individual did not join the Executive Group during 2022-23.
2. Accrued pension benefits for directors are not included in this table for 2023/24 due to an exceptional delay in the calculation of these figures following the application of the public service pensions remedy¹².
3. Final salary member (classic/classic plus/premium) who has transitioned to alpha. The final salary pension of a person in employment is calculated by reference to their pay and length of service. The pension will increase from one year to the next by virtue of any pay rise during the year. Where there is no or a small pay rise, the increase in pension due to extra service may not be sufficient to offset the inflation increase – that is, in real terms, the pension value can reduce, hence the negative values.
4. Any members affected by the Public Service Pensions Remedy were reported in the 2015 scheme for the period between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 in 2022-23.
5. CETV figures are calculated using the guidance on discount rates for calculating unfunded public service pension contribution rates that was extant at 31 March 2023. HM Treasury published updated guidance on 27 April 2023; this guidance will be used in the calculation of 2023-24 CETV figures.
6. 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 2023-24 was £240-245k (2022-23: £225-230k). In 2023-24, no (2022-23: no) employee received remuneration in excess of the highest paid director.

The average percentage change in pay from the previous financial year in respect of the employees of the CPS taken as a whole, was an increase of 4.18% to £46,768 (2022-23: £44,890). During 2023-24 the CPS appointed a new Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). On appointment, the new DPP became the highest paid director in the CPS. The percentage change in salary and allowances for the highest paid director in comparison for the highest paid director in 2022-23, based on the mid-point of the relevant banded remuneration was 6.6% (2022-23: 4.6%). The average percentage change for performance pay and bonuses from the previous financial year in respect of the highest paid director was 0% (2022-23: 0%).

Figures for 2022-23 have been restated to allow for direct comparison with 2023-24 and exclude the pay of the highest paid director in line with requirements of the Financial Reporting Manual.

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 2023-24 have increased compared to 2022-23. Whilst the pay at each of 25th percentile levels has increased since 2022-23, the impact of the ratios has been mitigated due to the highest paid director pay band increasing as a result of the incoming DPP.

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.

Figures for 2022-23 have been restated to allow for direct comparison with 2023-24 and exclude the pay of the highest paid director in line with requirements of the Financial Reporting Manual.

Remuneration ranged from £20k to £240-245k (2022-23: £20k to £225-£230k).

Civil Service pensions

Pension benefits are provided through the Civil Service pension arrangements. Before 1 April 2015, the only scheme was the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS), which is divided into a few different sections – classic, premium and classic plus provide benefits on a final salary basis, whilst nuvos provides benefits on a career average basis. 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. All newly appointed civil servants, and the majority of those already in service, joined the new scheme.

The PCSPS and alpha are unfunded statutory schemes. Employees and employers make contributions (employee contributions range between 4.6% and 8.05%, depending on salary). The balance of the cost of benefits in payment is met by monies voted by Parliament each year. Pensions in payment are increased annually in line with the Pensions Increase legislation. Instead
of the defined benefit arrangements, employees may opt for a defined contribution pension with an employer contribution, the partnership pension account.

In alpha, pension builds up at a rate of 2.32% of pensionable earnings each year, and the total amount accrued is adjusted annually in line with a rate set by HM Treasury. Members may opt to give up (commute) pension for a lump sum up to the limits set by the Finance Act 2004.

All members who switched to alpha from the PCSPS had 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.

Normal 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 in this report show pension earned in PCSPS or alpha – as appropriate. Where a member has benefits in both the PCSPS and alpha, the figures show the combined value of their benefits in the two schemes but note that the constituent parts of that pension may be payable from different ages.

When the Government introduced new public service pension schemes in 2015, there were transitional arrangements which treated existing scheme members differently based on their age. Older members of the PCSPS remained in that scheme, rather than moving to alpha. In 2018, the Court of Appeal found that the transitional arrangements in the public service pension schemes
unlawfully discriminated against younger members.

As a result, steps are being taken to remedy those 2015 reforms, making the pension scheme provisions fair to all members. The public service pensions remedy is made up of two parts. The first part closed the PCSPS on 31 March 2022, with all active members becoming members of alpha from 1 April 2022. The second part removes the age discrimination for the remedy period, between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022, by moving the membership of eligible members during this period back into the PCSPS on 1 October 2023. This is known as “rollback”.

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).

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 2023-24. Figures shown in brackets are for the prior year, 2022-23.

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 the departure is agreed. 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 2024

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

Staff composition table

Average number of persons employed for 2023-24 (Audited)

Figures for 2022-23 have been restated to allow for a direct comparison with 2023-24 and records apprentices with permanent contracts as permanently employed staff rather than as others. The total average number of full-time equivalent staff during the year is unchanged.

Staff costs for 2023-24 (Audited)

Further details of staff costs can be found in Note 3 to the Accounts on page 139.

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 2020. Details can be found in the resource accounts of the Cabinet Office: Civil Superannuation (www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/about-us/resource-accounts/).

For 2023-24, employers’ contributions of £87,816.105 were payable to the PCSPS (2022-23: £79,922,208) 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 2023-24 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 £439,819 (2022-23: £400,422) 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% (2022-23: 8% to 14.75%) of pensionable pay. Employers also match employee contributions up to 3% of pensionable pay.

In addition, employer contributions of £16,982, 0.5% (2022-23: £15,588, 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 £36,852 (2022-23: £34,136). Contributions prepaid at that date were £Nil (2022-23: £Nil).

4 individuals (2022-23: 9) retired early on ill-health grounds; the total additional accrued pension liabilities in the year amounted to £72,514 (2022-23: £280,495).

Staff policies

In 2023-24, the CPS has successfully renewed 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.

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, equality and inclusion, including being accredited as a Disability Confident Leader and recognised as a Top 10 Employer by Working Families for the seventh year running.

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 2023-24 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 11 years, currently standing at 68%. Women are also in the majority at more senior levels, but to a lesser degree – women make up 58% of Senior Civil Service (SCS) and equivalent grades in the 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 22 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. This compares favourably with both the wider Civil Service, in which 15.4% of civil servants had declared as ethnic minority, as of 2 August 2023, 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.

In 2023-24, the CPS also undertook a review to understand the decrease in ethnic minority representation at senior grades, providing recommendations to remove barriers to progression in this group. An external consultancy also reviewed recruitment and promotion rates with a focus on this group and disabled colleagues.

Age

26.1% 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

LGBO representation across all grades is constant; 6% of all staff, 5% of Grades D and E, and 9% 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.

75% of our staff have declared whether they have a disability or long-term health condition. Workforce disability representation is 19%, with SCS disability representation at 29%. Both are higher than the Civil Service average.

Achievements this year

• A consistent level of declaration for ethnicity at 91%, and a slight rise for Sexual Orientation (80% to 81%).
• A consistent level of the representation of our ethnic minority group employees at 23%
• An increase in disability representation at (16% to 19%) including a 13PP rise at SCS level (13% to 29%).

According to the 2023 people survey, reports of bullying, harassment and discrimination remain consistent. In 2023, one of the few questions that improved in our People Survey results vs. 2022 was for the question: ‘H02B. When working from home, my colleagues are good at keeping in touch formally and informally’ – this scored 91% positive and improved by 2 percentage points since the previous year”

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.
• Following reviews undertaken in 2023-24 to explore barriers to progression to senior roles for ethnic minority staff, and the recruitment experience of this group and disabled staff, the CPS will be delivering the recommended activities to improve the experience of these groups.

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 2023-24 financial year, 74 employees (68 in 2022-23) acted as relevant union officials with pre-approved facility time. Of these, 9 (2 in 2022-23) spent 0% of their time on trade union facility time and 65 (66 in 2022-23) spent between 1-50% of their time on trade union facility time. The total cost of facility time was £347,237 (£283,036 in 2022-23), which is 0.07% (0.07% in 2022-23) of the total pay bill of £501,493,509 (£438,416,755 in 2022-23). The time spent on paid trade union activities as a percentage of total paid facility time hours was 0% (0% in 2022-23).

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 2023 People Survey ran from 19 September to 23 October. A total of 356,715 people across the Civil Service completed the survey giving an overall response rate of 65%.

The CPS response rate this year was 61% which showed a +9-percentage point (pp) decrease on the 2022 survey (70%) and was +4pp lower 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 2023, the CPS EEI decreased by 2pp to 67%, which remains of the highest EEI recorded by the CPS since the survey began in 2009 and a full +18pp above the lowest EEI recorded in 2011.

The wider Civil Service EEI reduced –1pp this year to 64%. For a fourth subsequent year, the CPS has exceeded the Civil Service EEI and has a +3pp 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 2024, earning £245 per day or greater

Table 2: Highly paid off-payroll workers engaged at any point during the year ended 31 March 2024, 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 2023 and 31 March 2024

Sickness absence

There has been a very slight decrease in Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) from 8.0 to 7.99 (as at quarter 4 2023-24), against a Civil Service average of 8.1 days.