HC Deb 21 June 1993 vol 227 cc69-70W
Mr. McAllion

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what consideration he gave in deciding to appoint Mr. Terry Green as a non-executive director with the Benefits Agency to his immediately preceding status as a civil servant in the agency;

(2) if he will publish the terms and conditions relating to the recent appointment of Mr. Terry Green as a non-executive director of the Benefits Agency.

Mr. Hague

The appointment of non-executive members of the Benefits Agency management team is matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.

Letter from M. Richard to Mr. John McAllion, dated 18 June 1993: As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking what consideration he gave in deciding to appoint Mr. Terry Green as a non-executive director with the Benefits Agency to his immediately preceding status as a civil servant in the Agency and if he will publish the terms and conditions relating to his appointment of Mr. Terry Green as a non-executive director of the Benefits Agency. We have recently been looking, within the Benefits Agency, at the roles and responsibilities of the directors who form the Benefits Agency Management Team. We concluded that it would be appropriate to reduce the number of full-time executive directors from six to five, but that it would also be desirable to appoint two part-time non-executive members of the Team, particularly to contribute to the strategic thinking of the Agency. I have been very pleased to appoint Terry Green as a non-executive member of the Management Team with a special interest in customer service issues. In that role he will be able to develop the work he led on customer service when he was employed by the Agency. The terms and conditions relating to this appointment are not yet the subject of a formal contract but it has been agreed that Mr. Green will work for three days a month. Details of an individual's remuneration are regarded as confidential, but the daily fee payable to Mr. Green is well within the normal range for this type of appointment. He will also be reimbursed travel and subsistence expenses in accordance with the normal Benefits Agency rules. His immediately preceding status as a civil servant was relevant only to the extent that he is able to bring to our deliberations considerable knowledge of customer services issues in the Benefits Agency. The normal rules of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme relating to re-employment will be applied. I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this letter will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.