To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2006, Official Report, column 820W, on departmental staff, how staff with an unsatisfactory performance were monitored prior to 1 June 2005. (89191)

The change that took place to my Department's performance management procedures on Wednesday 1 June 2005 only related to the record- keeping process. From that date, detailed central records of all unsatisfactory performance cases were introduced. The policies and procedures for managing poor performance remain the same. Previously central records were only maintained in cases where staff who received an unsatisfactory report failed to improve and were subsequently dismissed. Where unsatisfactory performers achieved the required improvement, managers handled the case locally. For this reason, information on the total number of staff who received unsatisfactory reports is only available from Wednesday 1 June 2005.