Question
Asked by
To ask Her Majesty's Government for each of the last three years for which figures are available, how many people were eligible for performance bonuses and special bonuses in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and its agencies, by civil service band; how many people received each type of bonus, by civil service band; what the average payment was for each type of bonus, by civil service band; and what the maximum payment was for each type of bonus, by civil service band.[HL36]
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 table below details how many people were eligible for and received a non-consolidated variable pay awards and the average and the maximum payment for a non-consolidated variable pay award, by civil service band, awarded under the Defra standard pay and performance management process for the three most recent performance years for which the relevant payments have been published in the department's accounts.
Table 1 covers staff at grade 6 and below or equivalent in core Defra (including staff who transferred to DECC on 3 October 2008) and those executive agencies (Animal Health, Veterinary Medicines Directorate and Marine and Fisheries Agency) that are covered by the core department's remuneration arrangements. It covers 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).
The remaining tables cover staff at grade 6 and below or equivalent, employed in those executive agencies that 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 10 April 2009).
Table 1 Performance Year 2005-06 Performance Year 2006-07 Performance Year 2007-08 SCS Non- SCS SCS Non- SCS SCS Non- SCS Number of staff eligible for non-consolidated performance payment 189 5805 186 4980 171 4565 Number of staff who received a non-consolidated performance payment 153 2242 152 1807 150 1764 Average value of non-consolidated performance payment £6,000 £400 £8,000 £400 £8,500 £400 The value of maximum non-consolidated payment £15,147 £4,506 £15,640 £4,577 £17,250 £3,966 Percentage of SCS paybill set aside for non-consolidated performance payments 6.5% N/A 7.6% N/A 8.6% N/A
Performance Year 2005-06 Performance Year 2006-07 Performance Year2007-08 Non-SCS Non-SCS Non-SCS Number of staff eligible for non consolidated performance payment 1313 1360 1290 Number of staff who received a non-consolidated performance payment 251 212 226 Average value of non-consolidated performance payment £228 £253 £274 The value of maximum non- consolidated payment £684 £627 £605
Performance Year 2005-06 Performance Year 2006-07 Performance Year 2007-08 Non-SCS Non-SCS Non-SCS Number of staff eligible for non- consolidated performance payment 681 680 670 Number of staff who received a non-consolidated performance payment 260 328 332 Average value of non-consolidated performance payment £657 £799 £554 The value of maximum non-consolidated payment £2,943 £3,063 £3,807
Performance Year 2005-06 Performance Year 2006-07 Performance Year 2007-08 Non-SCS Non-SCS Non-SCS Number of staff eligible for non- consolidated performance payment 3078 3529 3330 Number of staff who received a non-consolidated performance payment 505 813 1126 Average value of non-consolidated performance payment £500 £700 £200 The value of maximum non- consolidated payment £500 £700 £800
Performance Year 2005-06 Performance Year 2006-07 Performance Year 2007-08 Non-SCS Non-SCS Non-SCS Number of staff eligible for non-consolidated performance payment 554 562 541 Number of staff who received a non-consolidated performance payment 511 506 496 Average value of non-consolidated performance payment £745 £975 £1,267 The value of maximum non- consolidated payment £5,147 £5,902 £5,405
Asked by
To ask Her Majesty's Government for each of the past three years for which figures are available, how many people were eligible for performance bonuses and special bonuses in the Department of Health and its agencies, by civil service band; how many people received each type of bonus, by civil service band; what the average payment was for each type of bonus, by civil service band; and what the maximum payment was for each type of bonus, by civil service band[HL37]
An increasing element of the pay awards for the department and its agencies over the past three years has been allocated to non-consolidated performance pay. These payments are used to recognise excellent performance and exemplary behaviours in contributing to the department's objectives.
Non-consolidated variable pay awards are funded from within existing pay bill controls and have to be re-earned each year. They do not add to future pay bill costs. In the case of the senior Civil Service, the percentage of paybill set aside for performance-related awards is based on recommendations from the independent Senior Salaries Review Body. For staff at AO to grade 6, the percentage of paybill set aside was determined by a three-year pay settlement introduced in 2008-09.
The following tables show, for the department and its agencies, how many people were eligible for (estimated at year end) and received a non-consolidated variable pay award and the average and maximum payment for the award, by civil service band, awarded under the department's standard pay and performance management processes for the past three years of published accounts. The tables include in-year and end-year performance payments but not non-consolidated payments made as part of a pay award to those at or near the maxima of their pay scales.
2006-071 2007-081 2008-09 SCS Non-SCS SCS Non-SCS SCS Non-SCS Number of staff eligible for performance-pay award 261 2,069 247 1,987 260 1,985 Number of staff who received a performance-pay award2 175 241 176 433 214 924 Median value of a performance-pay award 5,662 700 8,927 661 7,927 500 The maximum payment for a performance pay award1 30,699 9,000 322,750 9,000 326,775 12,000 Percentage of SCS paybill set aside for performance pay 6.5% N/A 7.6% N/A 8.6% N/A
Notes:
1. The table includes both in-year and end-year non-consolidated performance payments. End-year payments are in respect of performance in the previous year; that is, end-year payments made in 2008-09 relate to performance year 2007-08 etc.
2. The number of eligible staff will be slightly underestimated as there are a number of staff with “unknown” grades on the department's HR information system.
3. In addition, an individual employed on a SCS non-standard form of contract, which links a higher than normal percentage of their pay to performance, received total non-consolidated payments of £27,500 in 2007-08 and £49,004 in 2008-09.
2006-071 2007-081 2008-091 SCS Non-SCS SCS Non-SCS SCS Non-SCS Number of staff eligible for performance-pay award 109 818 112 867 120 812 Number of staff who received a performance-pay award 72 191 75 168 98 310 Median value of a performance-pay award 4,584 400 9,289 500 9,301 500 The maximum payment for a performance pay award 12,480 15,809 19,776 12,573 26,085 17,500 Percentage of SCS paybill set aside for performance pay 6.5% N/A 7.6% N/A 8.6% N/A
Notes:
1. The table includes both in-year and end-year non-consolidated performance payments. End-year payments are in respect of performance in the previous year; that is, end-year payments made in 2008-09 relate to performance year 2007-08 etc.
2006-071 2007-081 2008-091 SCS Non-SCS SCS Non-SCS SCS Non-SCS Number of staff eligible for performance-pay award 9 259 8 260 6 248 Number of staff who received a performance-pay award 7 71 *2 13 6 58 Median value of a performance-pay award 4,800 1,000 * 1,000 8,530 538 The maximum payment for a performance pay award 5,420 3,500 * 2,500 11,432 3,500 Percentage of SCS paybill set aside for performance pay 6.5% N/A 7.6% N/A 8.6% N/A
Notes:
1. The table includes both in-year and end-year non-consolidated performance payments. End-year payments are in respect of performance in the previous year; that is, end-year payments made in 2008-09 relate to performance year 2007-08 etc.
2. Where there are less than five employees in a grade, data are omitted on grounds of confidentiality.