I would like to make it quite clear that the question of restoring pensions parity does not arise since it has not been removed. The position is that in June 1997, in its Action Programme for the Millennium, the Government undertook to protect public service pensions. In November 1997, the Government announced that the benefit of the restructuring pay deals under the Programme for Competitiveness and Work would apply on the basis of parity to public servants who had retired before the commencement dates of those deals, the only change being that there would be a guaranteed minimum increase of 3%, or 2% in the case of any pensioners who had already received an advance payment of 1%.
Following the Government decision in November 1997, my Department issued comprehensive guidelines for dealing with cases. Some organisations had difficulties in interpreting how these guidelines applied to certain groups of pensioners. These issues were subsequently resolved and my Department, along with other Departments, made every effort to ensure that public sector bodies implemented fully the terms of the Government decision.
There were however problems due to the fact that some pensioner groups objected to the terms of the guidelines. Those guidelines were framed with full regard to the way that parity had traditionally been applied even before the PCW deals were negotiated and, as such, they excluded pensioners from benefiting from payments such as new allowances, existing non-pensionable allowances being made pensionable for the first time, long service increments which were personal to certain serving groups of employees, post upgradings, etc. Despite this, some pensioner groups sought to have the benefit of such payments applied to them. It would of course have been a breach of parity to do this.
Earlier this year, it was agreed with the unions concerned that the personal long service increments paid under the various PCW restructuring pay deals would be made permanent for serving staff with effect from 1 April 2000. Accordingly, these long service increments are being passed on to the relevant pensioners in the normal way provided that they have the required service on the maximum of the relevant scales.
The benefit of all relevant pay increases since November 1997 under Partnership 2000 and the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness have been passed on to pensioners.