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PoliticsUK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting to forgo salary for first three months
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Newly appointed UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting will not receive a salary for his first three months in the role, HuffPost UK has exclusively learned. Streeting, who resigned as Health Secretary two months ago in protest of Keir Starmer's leadership, received a severance payment of £16,876 (equivalent to three months' cabinet minister salary) upon leaving his previous post. His rapid return to government under new Prime Minister Andy Burnham raised questions about whether he would return the lump sum. Instead, he will forgo his ministerial salary for the three-month period, in line with House of Commons guidance that is not mandatory. The article contrasts Streeting's decision with that of former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who was reappointed as Housing Secretary by Burnham after a 10-month absence and has refused calls to return her severance pay, stating she is under no obligation to do so.
Source report
HuffPost UK can reveal that Wes Streeting will not receive a salary for his first three months as defence secretary.
The cabinet minister was appointed to the role in new Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government on Monday. The appointment came just two months after Streeting resigned as health secretary in protest at Keir Starmer's leadership.
That resignation entitled him to a severance payment of £16,876, equivalent to three months of a cabinet minister's salary. His swift return to government raised questions about whether he would return that lump sum.
However, HuffPost UK has learned that instead of handing back the payment, Streeting will forgo his ministerial salary during his first three months at the Ministry of Defence.
Rules on Reappointment
According to the House of Commons library, ministers who are reappointed to another government role within three months of standing down "will be expected to forgo their salary until the full three-month period has elapsed."
The rule is not mandatory, meaning ministers could take their salary from day one if they chose to do so.
Angela Rayner's Case
Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner was reappointed housing secretary by Burnham, 10 months after she was forced to resign amid a dispute over her tax affairs. HMRC has since cleared her of any wrongdoing.
On Thursday, she rejected calls from the Conservatives to return her severance pay, despite being under no obligation to do so.
Rayner said: "No, my severance payment was given to me at the time. I'd worked in Government for a period of time, and then I came out of government for just under a year, I think is the timetable, and I'll be delivering in government again."
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Source
HuffPost UK - Athena2 - All Entries (Public)Western
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Wes Streeting Will Forgo Salary for First Three Months as UK Defence Secretary