Ministers have reportedly tried to persuade civil servants to give up performance-related payments but were told the rewards were a contractual right. According to The Daily Telegraph, one quarter of the most senior civil service officials are in line for a sum worth up to 10 per cent of their salary. Cabinet Office reports says permanent secretaries last year donated their performance-related pay to the Civil Service Benevolent Fund while in 2008-09 they waived all their bonuses.