The Bishop of Oxford has called for action to increase the pay and standing of public servants.

The Right Rev Richard Harries said poor pay and lack of respect for teachers, civil servants and the police was hitting recruitment.

He urged ministers to do more to reverse the trend and improve the reputation and salaries of public servants.

Bishop Harries was speaking during a debate on public service in the House of Lords.

He said: "What concerns me is the denigration that some sectors of the public service have received in recent decades. Those whom we expect to pick up the pieces of a broken society, teachers and social workers, have been caricatured.

"People who work in the public sector on the whole receive less financial reward than those in the private spheres.

"In the past, the compensation for that was the respect in which they were held by the public, which in turn reinforced their desire to serve the public as professionally as possible.

"When there is nothing but constant criticism, something fundamental to our society is being eroded.

"Pay is, of course, a factor. When differentials with the private sector are too great people will either move out or not be recruited at all."

He added: "Public servants, like the rest of us, need to be appreciated. The obvious indicator of how we in society are willing to value those in the public sector is by ensuring that their salaries do not get too far out of kilter with those in the private sphere.

"Instead of the current disparagement of those working in the public service we need a concentrated campaign to raise the esteem in which they are held."