Angela Rayner is set to receive a severance payout of almost £17,000 after leaving her ministerial post, just weeks before new rules block disgraced MPs from claiming such payments. Cabinet ministers are entitled to a severance payment equivalent to a quarter of their annual ministerial salary when leaving office. From 13 October, ministers who depart following a “serious breach” of the ministerial code will no longer qualify, but Rayner remains eligible under the current rules.
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The payout follows her resignation after a Telegraph investigation revealed she avoided a £40,000 stamp duty bill on her flat in Hove. Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministers’ interests, said she had breached the ministerial code by failing to meet the “highest possible standards of proper conduct”. The severance could also offset any penalty she faces from HMRC, which may include fines of up to £12,000 plus interest.
Rayner is additionally expected to receive a pension boost after just over a year as deputy prime minister and housing secretary. Cabinet ministers are granted extra pension benefits on top of the gold-plated pensions MPs receive. Experts estimate this could add roughly £1,400 a year to her pension, which is based on average salary and pegged to inflation. MPs currently receive a salary of £93,904, following a 2.8% rise in April.
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It remains Rayner’s choice whether to accept the severance pay. Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the PM, told Times Radio that it is her decision, not the Prime Minister’s. Conservatives have called on her to decline the payment, arguing that any integrity would require she do so. Meanwhile, Pat McFadden, Work and Pensions Secretary, said the new rules announced in July will strengthen accountability and ensure fewer ministers departing under six months receive payouts.
