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PoliticsNew UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting to forgo salary for first three months
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HuffPost UK reveals that Wes Streeting, newly appointed Defence Secretary under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, will not receive a salary for his first three months in the role. This decision follows his resignation as Health Secretary two months ago in protest of Keir Starmer's leadership, which entitled him to a £16,876 severance payment equivalent to three months' cabinet minister salary. The article notes that while ministers reappointed within three months are expected to forgo salary, it is not mandatory. It contrasts Streeting's decision with former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who rejected calls to return her severance pay after being reappointed Housing Secretary 10 months after resigning over tax issues, from which she was cleared by HMRC.
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 prominent role in new Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government on Monday. This appointment came just two months after Streeting resigned as health secretary in protest at Keir Starmer's leadership.
That resignation entitled him to a pay-off 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 repaying the severance, 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."
However, this expectation is not mandatory, meaning ministers could take their salary from day one if they chose to.
Comparison with Angela Rayner
Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner was reappointed housing secretary by Burnham, 10 months after she was forced to resign amid a row over her tax affairs. HMRC has since cleared her of any wrongdoing.
On Thursday, she rejected calls from the Conservatives to hand back her severance pay, even though she is 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
Part of this Story
Wes Streeting Will Forgo Salary for First Three Months as Defence Secretary