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Secondments

Volume 410: debated on Friday 19 September 2003

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To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's policy is on employing secondees from the private sector; how many secondees from the (a) private and (b) public sectors her Department employed in each year since 1997; from which companies and organisations they were seconded; at what level they were employed; and if she will make a statement. [127064]

Secondments into and out of Defra are vital in meeting our commitment to develop a modern, flexible, outward focused Civil Service that works in partnership with all sectors of society. Defra promotes and encourages the interchange of personnel between the Department and a range of organisations, in the private sector, the public sector and the voluntary and community sector.Since the creation of Defra in June 2001 the Department has seconded personnel from the following organisations all at middle to senior management level:

From June 2001 to March 2002Organisation
PrivateBBC
British Petroleum
GlaxoKlineSmith
Greater London Enterprise
Total4
PublicCountryside Agency (2)
English Nature
Environment Agency
Imperial College
Local Government Association
New Zealand Government
Warwick University
Natural Environment Research Council
Total9
Voluntary and CommunityWorld Wildlife Fund
Year in Industry
Total2
April 2002 to March 2003
PrivateChemical Industrial Association Envirowise
TXU Warm Front
Total3
PublicCountryside Agency (2)
English Nature
Environment Agency (4)
Forum for the Future
Global to Local
Gloucestershire CC
Energy Action Grants Agency (EAGA)
Total11
Voluntary and CommunityEnvironmental Campaigns Groundwork
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) (2)
World Wildlife Fund
Total5
From June 2001 to March 2002Organisation
April 2003-to date
PrivatePowergen CPH Ltd.
Total1
PublicCambridgeshire CC
English Nature
Environment Agency (2)
SW Regional Development Agency
Total5
Voluntary and CommunityEnvironmental Campaigns
Total1

Letter from Professor Mike Roberts to Ms Annabelle Ewing, dated July 2003:

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has asked me to reply, with respect to the Central Science Laboratory, to your question concerning secondees from the private and public sectors since 1997.
The purpose of inward secondments from the private sector is to allow CSL to seek specialist expertise which cannot be provided by existing staff and for which recruitment to permanent posts is not appropriate. Modified rules on fair and open competition apply. CSL would ensure that the best candidate has been selected and the candidate's qualifications and experience qualify them to undertake the duties required. The secondee would continue to be paid and formally employed by the organisation that seconds them and the organisation invoices CSL for the salary costs.
A posting from another Government Department is classed as a loan and can be for up to 2–3 years. Payment of salary is taken over by the importing department.
CSL have not had any inward secondments from the private sector since 1997. There has been one loan in 2002 from VLA, a consultant in Veterinary Parasitology.