HC Deb 19 January 1993 vol 217 cc167-8W
Mr. Wicks

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average length of time taken to deal with complaints under the staff grievance procedure of Property Services Agency Building Maintenance south-east; what proposals he has for reducing the time taken; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Redwood

PSA Services introduced a revised procedure for dealing with complaints and grievances in April 1992. This procedure recognises that many informal cases are settled quickly and amicably between individuals and their line managers. The recommended time limit for dealing with formal complaints is four weeks, but this can vary according to the nature and seriousness of the complaint.

The only formal grievance raised in BM South East took much longer than four weeks to resolve. As a result all directors are being reminded of the need to adhere more closely to the recommended time limit.

Mr. Wicks

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what date the list of names of PSA Projects staff not chosen for secondment was finalised; on what date PSA Projects was sold to Tarmac; on what date a complete ethnic breakdown of those staff not chosen for secondment was produced; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Redwood

PSA Projects was sold to Tarmac Construction on 1 December 1992.

The Projects staff choice exercise was completed on 13 November 1992 and the full list of those staff not chosen for secondment was passed to the PSA Services equal opportunities unit on 17 November 1992. The unit carried out a detailed analysis to establish whether there had been any discrimination in the selection process. None was identified.

Mr. Wicks

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the proportion of ethnic minority PSA Projects staff(a) in general and (b) of those not picked for secondment; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Redwood

The proportions of ethnic minority staff in Projects are;

  1. (a) 8.2 per cent. of the total staff in post at 20 November 1992
  2. (b) 8.5 per cent. of those not picked for secondment

Although the difference in percentage terms is not statistically significant the PSA's equal opportunities unit examined each case individually and concluded that there had been no discrimination in the selection process.