Introduction
This research reveals the cost of civil service benefits to the taxpayer, focusing on canteen subsidy, cycling subsidy and rollover holiday which together accrued a total value of at least £7,610,578 between 2014-2015 and 2018-2019. Many private sector roles do not offer these perks, yet taxpayers are forced to provide for those in the public sector. That is despite their lower productivity compared to their private sector equivalents.[1],[2]
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Key findings
- Since 2014-15 government departments have spent at least £7,610,578 on canteen subsidy, cycling subsidy and rollover holiday.
- Between 2014-15 and 2018-19, the total value of annual leave days rolled over by at least two government departments was at least £6,800,269.
- The Department for International Trade had 20,972 days rolled over, worth approximately £6,631,090. In 2018-19, 8 days on average were rolled over by each employee in the department.
- The Wales Office had 1,158 days rolled over, worth approximately £169,179. In 2018-19, 6 days on average were rolled over by each employee in the department.
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£600,759 was spent by two departments between 2014 and 2018 to provide a canteen subsidy to their employees.
- The Department for Work and Pensions spent the most on their canteen subsidy spending £536,503 in 2018-19 at the headquarters site alone.
- Across four departments £209,552 was spent on cycle to work schemes and installing bicycle racks. Of the four departments who responded to the Parliamentary Question, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spent the most on cycle to work schemes, with a total spend of £110,800 since 2015. Meanwhile, the Department for Transport spent the most on installing bicycle racks with costs since 2015 totalling £48,000.
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[1]Office for National Statistics, Public service productivity: quarterly, UK, April, to June 2019, 2020.
[2] Office for National Statistics, Labour productivity, UK: April to June 2019, 2020.