To ask Her Majesty's Government what bonuses were or will be paid to Met Office officials for the years 2009 and 2010; how much each grade received; and on what bases and by whom they were awarded. [HL2429]

An element of the Met Office’s overall pay award is allocated to non-consolidated variable pay related to performance.

For performance-related payments made in 2008-09, I refer the noble Lord to the Answer that my honourable friend the Minister for Veterans, Kevan Jones, gave to the honourable Member for East Antrim (Mr Wilson) in another place on 26 February 2010 (Official Report, Commons, col. 774W).

In 2009-10, performance-related payments of £126,416 have been awarded by line managers to recognise immediately exceptional one-off performance either by individuals or by teams. The average award has been £64.

Other performance-related payments relating to 2009-10 will be considered following the end of the financial year, depending on achievements during this period against specific targets linked to the success of the Met Office at individual, team or organisational level.

The Met Office does not hold a breakdown of payments by grade and this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.