HMRC paid £1.24m to just seven directors last year

The government has revealed in its quango rich list that seven directors of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) earned up to £1.24 million in pay and benefits last year.

The rich list sets out last year's pay and benefits of Britain’s best paid civil servants working for quangos like National Savings & Investments, the Pension Protection Fund and the Asset Protection Agency. It does not disclose exact salaries but outlines what the best paid civil servants receive within a £5,000 range.

The best paid civil servant at HMRC was director general of benefits and credits Steve Lamey who was paid between £205,000 and £209,999. The chairman of HMRC Mike Clasper was paid between £150,000 and £154,999 for working three days a week.  

National Savings & Investments chief executive Jane Platt was paid between £190,000 and £194,999 for running the government’s saving arm famous for its low-risk investments.  

Senior civil servants at the Department of Work and Pensions have also been well rewarded. IT director general Joe Harley collected pay and benefits worth between £245,000 and £249,999. The seven directors at the DWP could have collected more than £1.3 million in pay last year according to list.  

The Asset Protection Agency, which was set up in 2009 to manage and guarantee assets from nationalised bank Royal Bank of Scotland, had five staff on the rich list. APA chief executive Stephan Wilcke was paid between £150,000 and £154,999, while chief investment officer Ion Dagtoglou received between £165,000 and £169,999.  

Chairman of the Pension Protection Fund Lawrence Churchill was paid between £85,000 and £89,999 for working part time for three days a week at the PPF. The former chief executive of Zurich Financial Services was named as the chairman of the Nest Corporation in January.  

The Pensions Regulator paid chief executive Tony Hobman between £175,000 and £179,999 and its chairman David Norgrove between £110,000 and £114,999 for working three days a week. Hobman stepped down from his role on 6 May. 

The board of the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority were meanwhile paid £720,000 last year, with chief executive Tim Jones collecting between £235,000 and £239,999.