Prison Service: Pay

Mr. Bellingham
To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what the cost would be to HM Prison Service of paying off all outstanding time off in lieu hours at the contract hours rate; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Sutcliffe
It is not the policy of the Prison Service to make payment to staff in respect of outstanding time off in lieu except in exceptional circumstances i.e. a member of staff leaving the service. However, at 31 March 2006, the date of the last set of audited accounts, the cost of paying all outstanding amounts would have been £1,470,713 at the contracted hours rate.

Mr. Bellingham
To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how much was spent by HM Prison Service on payments to staff whilst suspended from duty in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Sutcliffe
The Prison Service does not summarise the costs in this way and would need to review individual files which could be done only at a disproportionate cost.

Mr. Bellingham
To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what mechanisms exist to determine the award of bonuses within HM Prison Service; who is responsible for determining the size of the budget to be used for bonuses; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Sutcliffe
Prison Service Order 8480 Performance Recognition details the criteria which determine the award of bonuses within HM Prison Service. These criteria allow managers to award a bonus payment of up to £2,000 and, with Director General approval, a bonus payment of between £2,001 and £20,000. The size of the budget for bonuses is determined by the budget holder and may not exceed 0.5 per cent. of the pay bill costs in any business unit.