To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what proportion of his Department's staff are employed within each salary band; what the title and role of each position within each salary band is; and for each salary band what the (a) bonus structure, (b) retirement provision, (c) expenses provision, (d) total expenses incurred in each of the last 10 years, (e) average age of employee, (f) number of (i) women and (ii) men and (g) ethnic composition is. (171405)

In DEFRA, staff pay bands generally equate to administrative grade equivalents. The number and proportion of DEFRA staff employed in each grade equivalent as at 30 November 2007 is shown in the following table.

The bonus structure is as follows:

For the SCS

Non-consolidated cash payments, otherwise known as bonuses, reward in-year performances in relation to agreed objectives, or short term personal contribution to wider organisational objectives. Bonuses are paid in addition to base pay increases and do not count towards pension.

Bonuses are allocated by departments from a 'pot' expressed as a percentage of the SCS salary bill, which is agreed centrally each year following the SSRB recommendations. The intention is that bonus decisions should be differentiated in order to recognise the most significant deliverers of in-year performance.

For Staff at Grade 6 and below

The high performance bonus awards scheme introduced in April 2005 provide DEFRA staff with recognition and reward for delivery of an outstanding outcome or performance that significantly exceeds normal expectations. The process should provide staff at all grades with an opportunity to earn a bonus, and ensure that achievements in operational, policy and corporate services areas are recognised as being of equal esteem.

There are two types of award:

In-year high performance bonuses paid to individuals or teams in recognition of one-off achievements during the year; and

Annual high performance bonuses which are paid to the top 10 per cent. of performers in each group for delivery of an outstanding outcome or performance sustained throughout the whole year.

The latest published information on the gender breakdown and ethic composition of civil servants is as at 30 September 2006 and is available in tables N and O at:

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/CivilService2006TablesandCharts.xls.

The other information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department and its agencies spent on end-of-year bonus payments in each of the last five years. (171548)

Payment of non-consolidated performance bonuses reflects the principle across the civil service of rewarding performance through one-off, non-consolidated payments. End-of-year bonuses are awarded to staff for high performance sustained throughout the whole year.

The following table shows details of end-of year bonuses awarded to SCS staff in core-Defra and its Executive Agencies in accordance with Cabinet Office arrangements; and for staff below the SCS in core-Defra and those Agencies covered by the core-Department's reward arrangements (Animal Health, Pesticides Safety Directorate, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Marine Fisheries Agency and Government Decontamination Services). Data prior to 2005 are available only at disproportionate cost due to systems changes.

The total sums paid annually in performance bonuses equate to a little over 1 per cent. of paybill.

For staff below SCS in Defra's other Executive Agencies (Central Science Laboratory, Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Rural Payments Agency and Veterinary Laboratories Agency), who have pay delegation, the following table illustrates the amount of end-of year bonus payments over the last five years. For the RPA, data prior to 2004 are available only at disproportionate costs due to systems changes; and 2007 end-of-year bonuses have not yet been finalised.