At a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee last week into the future of defence reform, it was disclosed that around 400 highly skilled jobs within the Ministry of Defence (MoD) are vacant due to 'uncompetitive' pay.

This is not a new problem, although it has got worse during the public sector pay freeze and reductions to civil service bonuses since 2010.

Hay Group provides data and advice on pay trends each year to the Cabinet Office.  The starting point (payband 1) of the senior civil service is a level where lots of major projects will be run and substantial procurement, technical and commercial expertise will be needed.