To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in his Department received bonus payments in 2008-09; what proportion of the total work force they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid was; what the largest single payment was; and if he will make a statement. (300896)

An element of DEFRA's overall pay award is allocated to non-consolidated variable pay related to performance. These payments are used to drive high performance and form part of the pay award for members of staff who demonstrate exceptional performance, for example by exceeding targets set or meeting challenging objectives.

Non-consolidated variable pay awards are funded from within existing pay bill controls, and have to be re-earned each year against predetermined targets and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs. The percentage of the pay bill set aside for performance-related awards for the SCS is based on recommendations from the independent Senior Salaries Review Body.

The following tables provide details of the number of staff who received non-consolidated performance pay, the proportion of the total work force they represented, the total amount paid on non-consolidated performance payments paid and the largest single payment in 2008-09, reflecting performance in the 2007-08 performance year.

Table 1 covers staff at Grade 6 and below in core-DEFRA and those executive agencies covered by the core-Department's terms and conditions, i.e. Animal Health, Veterinary Medicines Directorate and the Marine and Fisheries Agency.

Table 1 also includes senior civil servants in core DEFRA and its executive agencies (Animal Health, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Marine and Fisheries Agency, Rural Payments Agency, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Centre for the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science and the Central Science Laboratory—which is now part of the Food and Environment Research Agency, which was created on 1 April 2009.)

Tables 2 to 5 cover staff at Grade 6 and below, employed in those executive agencies who operate delegated pay arrangements (Rural Payments Agency, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Centre for the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science and the Central Science Laboratory—which is now part of the Food and Environment Research Agency, which was created on 1 April 2009).

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) average and (b) highest non-consolidated performance related payment for senior civil servants in his Department was in cash terms in each of the last five years. (303071)

An element of DEFRA's overall pay award is allocated to non-consolidated variable pay related to performance. These payments are used to drive high performance and form part of the pay award for members of staff who demonstrate exceptional performance, for example by exceeding targets set or meeting challenging objectives.

Non-consolidated variable pay awards are funded from within existing pay bill controls, and have to be re-earned each year against predetermined targets and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs. The percentage of the pay bill set aside for performance-related awards for the SCS is based on recommendations from the independent Senior Salaries Review Body.

The following table details the average and the maximum payment for a non-consolidated variable pay award, to senior civil servants, awarded under the DEFRA standard pay and performance management process for the five most recent performance years for which the relevant payments have been published in the Department's accounts. The data cover senior civil servants in core-DEFRA and its executive agencies (Animal Health, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Marine and Fisheries Agency, Rural Payments Agency, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Centre for the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science and the Food and Environment Research Agency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been paid in bonuses to civil servants in his Department in each year since 2006. (306430)

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 27 January 2010, Official Report, columns 871-872W.