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 Home Office 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. [HL5]

An element of the overall pay award for the Home Office and its agencies 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 pre-determined targets and, as such, do not add to future pay bill and pension costs. The percentage of the pay bill set aside for performance-related awards for the Senior Civil Service (SCS) is based on the recommendations of the independent Senior Salaries Review Body.

The attached tables set out how many people were eligible for and received a non-consolidated variable pay award, by Civil Service band, awarded in the Home Office and its agencies for the two most recent years for which information is available. The Identity and Passport Service does not pay individual performance bonuses below grade seven, but each member of staff below the SCS is eligible to receive an equal share of a corporate non-consolidated payment which rewards them for the successful delivery of key organisational objectives and financial targets. In 2007-08 this payment was £449 made to 3,930 members of staff; in 2008-09 it was £450 made to 3,919 members of staff.