Treasury boss Tom Scholar received £335k payout after sacking

The top official at the Treasury who was sacked days after Liz Truss became prime minister received an exit payout of £335,000.

Sir Tom Scholar was fired after Ms Truss pledged to change "Treasury orthodoxy" during the Tory leadership campaign last year.

His dismissal was criticised by former officials, who said it was an attack on the impartiality of the civil service.

At the time, the Treasury thanked Sir Tom for his "dedicated service".

The details of Sir Tom's severance payment for "loss of office" were included in the Treasury's annual report and accounts for 2022-23.

The figures show Sir Tom's total pay for 2022-23 was more than £550,000, including salary and pension benefits.

Large exit payouts to senior civil servants have proved controversial and Sir Tom's is higher than those handed out to other senior officials in recent years.

For example, the Department for Education handed former permanent secretary Jonathan Slater a £277,780 payout after he left in 2021.

A Treasury spokesperson said Sir Tom's payment was a "contractual amount resulting from the Civil Service Compensation Scheme - the payment is based on length of service and includes pension payments".

The Treasury says Sir Tom left his role as permanent secretary on 8 September, two weeks before the then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng delivered a financial statement widely known as the mini-budget.

The mini-budget caused turmoil on the financial markets and after a period of political and economic turbulence, Ms Truss resigned as prime minister after 45 days in office.

James Bowler, who was appointed as the permanent secretary to the Treasury in October last year, told a committee of MPs that Sir Tom's departure "wasn't normal".

Mr Bowler said: "I think the then-chancellor of the exchequer said he didn't want Tom to continue as the permanent secretary, so Tom stood aside and the process was undertaken to appoint someone in his stead."

Throughout her campaign to be Tory leader, Ms Truss blamed "Treasury orthodoxy" for slow economic growth over recent years.

Ms Truss, a former Treasury minister, accused her old department of promoting an "abacus economics" and insisted there needed to be a greater focus on stimulating economic growth.

She promised to boost the economy through "bold" tax cuts - a move that her leadership rival and successor as prime minister, Rishi Sunak, predicted would stoke further inflation.

Sir Tom had served as the permanent secretary to the Treasury for six years before his sacking brought an end to his decades-long career in the civil service.

He had advised successive prime ministers and chancellors on economic issues, had a key role in dealing with the fallout of the 2007 banking crisis, and led the Treasury through the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a brief statement following his dismissal, Sir Tom said: "The chancellor decided it was time for new leadership at the Treasury, and so I will be leaving with immediate effect.

"It has been the privilege of my career to lead this great institution since 2016. I wish the Treasury all the best for the times ahead, and I will be cheering on from the sidelines."