Crown Prosecution Service: Pay

Mr. Maude
To ask the Solicitor-General on what criteria bonus payments for travelling to work during the severe weather were made to Crown Prosecution Service staff in 2009.

The Solicitor-General
The CPS London Board took a decision to award a special bonus to staff who worked on 2 February 2009, a day when the vast majority of the transport network in London shut down. The payments were made in recognition of the fact that a limited number of staff were able to attend, to undertake duties which would ordinarily have been shared across the entire work force. The commitment of these members of staff helped to ensure that prosecution deadlines were met, cases were prepared for court and essential courts were covered.

The payments in London were made in accordance with a Special Bonus Scheme that was being piloted in a limited number of areas within the CPS. No other areas made payments relating to severe weather in 2009, and the overall Special Bonus Scheme was suspended in April 2009. No subsequent payments have been made under this scheme.