MHCLG shares technical documents in respect of exit payment regulations
On 30 September, only four hours before MPs voted to approve the exit payment regulations, MHCLG shared two draft technical documents in support of its consultation on changes to redundancy payments that councils may make, and to the local government pension scheme.
ALACE is preparing a response to the MHCLG consultation, which ends on 9 November, and we expect to share it with ALACE members in the week of 12 October.
The draft impact assessment confirms the concern of ALACE and many other commentators, that the overwhelming majority of local government staff would be affected by the exit payment cap and that it extends far beyond high earners: the GAD document says 86% of staff ceasing employment on grounds of redundancy are affected by the proposed reforms to exit payments.
The MHCLG message read:
“To provide some further clarity about the effects of the proposals that we are currently consulting on, please find attached the following documents, prepared by the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD);
- A draft impact assessment of the proposed reforms – the purpose of this note is to provide analysis of the impact of the proposed reforms to exit payments on members.
- Draft strain cost guidance – this guidance contains the factors to be used to calculate the pension strain for all exits subject to the exit payment cap, and accompanying guidance to demonstrate how these factors should be applied (for use of MHCLG and scheme administrators).
We would welcome any comments, queries or observations you may have on either of these documents. We would also like to take this opportunity to remind you that our consultation closes on 9 November and we look forward to receiving your responses. Our draft regulations will also be out for consultation shortly.”
The two documents can be found below.