To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies paid in end-of-year performance bonuses to (i) all staff and (ii) senior Civil Service staff in 2008-09; and how many such payments were made. (275244)

Less than 1 per cent. of the total pay bill is used for non-consolidated performance payments which have to be re-earned each year against pre-determined targets and, as such, do not add to future costs.

All DWP employees in pay bands below the senior civil service (SCS) are eligible for an annual individual non-consolidated performance payment if they attain a qualifying rating under the annual performance and development system. The amount of payment awarded is differentiated on the basis of an employee’s pay band and the performance level achieved and is the same across all business units.

For the SCS, end of year non-consolidated performance payments are determined on an individual basis by the relevant DWP SCS pay committee.

Performance awards are payable in July and are attributable to performance in the previous financial year. In the 2008-09 financial year £23.32 million has been paid as follows:

In response to the current economic conditions, the Government have frozen the size of the overall amount available for performance awards payable to SCS in July 2009.