Nice Little Earner !

[tonyav]

I wonder if IDS pay's himself a bonus.

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/dwp-staff-received-almost-%C2%A3140-million-in-bonuses-over-the-last-three-years/ar-CC4opo?li=AAaeUIW

[Psybbo]

And are these bonuses benefits?

[tonyav]

LOL ^^^^^^

[Noe-schitt]

No it's for cutting benifits

[Psybbo]

Seriously, Tony that is disgraceful

[tonyav]

I know.

[naomi24]

This is daft. IDS isn't responsible for paying wages or bonuses to Civil Servants.

[TheChair]

He is ultimately responsible for the department, as he is also for the deaths of those who died when their benefits were withdrawn.

[tonyav]

Who's in charge then, naomi ?.

[naomi24]

He might be 'in charge' at the moment, but he doesn't make these decisions. The Civil Service is a huge machine that runs along the same lines regardless of who is 'in charge'.

[tonyav]

Surely he has some say over the dept that he runs though, naomi.

[Psybbo]

Naomi, are you saying the government are not in charge of civil servants?

[naomi24]

Ministers have a staff of Civil Servants working in departments applicable to their particular area. Those Civil Servants will remain in office, working under the same conditions, regardless of the Minister of the day. If the flavour of government changed tomorrow, Civil Servants wouldn't be affected. Ministers don't run the Civil Service.

[tonyav]

No point in having a minister then imo.

[Psybbo]

Shades of 'Yes Minister'

[Davemano]

Absolutely disgusting when essential services are having to make cuts.

[jim360]

The DWP has also faced something like 20% - 30% staffing cuts, and even those people working there who have survived the massive culls have often had to reapply for their own jobs. Twice. And have had their pay frozen for most of the last seven or eight years.

[naomi24]

Tony, Ministers are not appointed to oversee Civil Servants. The Minister for the Foreign Office deals with foreign affairs; the Minister for the Home Office deals with home affairs. They, personally, are not employers.

[tonyav]

And yet 140 million over the last three years paid out in bonus, Jim.

[jim360]

Well you can spin it as if Civil Servants are taking us all for a massive joyride but it's just spin and a stupidly misleading story. Not to mention the bizarre link with IDS, who is an odious little man as far as I'm concerned but has nothing to do with this.

[Psybbo]

So it's really Humphrey who rules yet the government can change Doctors' pay and hours?