HC Deb 29 January 1996 vol 270 cc563-6W
Mr. Jim Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) when the bonus payments paid to Employment Service staff in Coventry began; when the staff of the Coventry Employment Service were notified of the payment of bonuses; and what the conditions of such payments were; [11837]

(2) when those Coventry Employment Service staff currently in dispute were notified of the payment of bonuses to Employment Service staff; and if they were notified of the conditions that would have to be accepted if they were to receive such payments; [11838]

set out in the following table. The table shows the amounts of European social fund allocated to the United Kingdom in the years 1994–1999. There are as yet no indicative allocations for objective 2 of the European structural fund in 1997–1999. It will be for the European Commission to decide later this year the share of each eligible member state and for the Government to determine the share between the eligible areas of Great Britain.

(3) what discussions took place between her Department and Employment Service with regards to the payment of bonuses to Coventry Employment Service staff; [11839]

(4) what bonus payments to Coventry Employment Service staff have been issued in relation to the introduction of the jobseeker's allowance;[11841]

(5) what are the reasons, outside those in connection with the introduction of the jobseeker's allowance, for the payment of bonus to Coventry Employment Service staff; and if she will make a statement; [11842]

(6) what is the cost to date, and what the eventual cost will be, of the payment of bonuses to Employment Service staff in (a) Coventry and (b) the United Kingdom as a whole; [11843]

(7) what relation the payment of bonus to Employment Service staff in Coventry bears to the current dispute within the Employment Service in Coventry; [11844]

(8) if bonus payments have been issued to the Employment Service staff in Coventry involved in the Coventry Employment Service dispute. [11845]

Mr. Forth

Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Mike Fogden to Mr. Jim Cunningham, dated 29 January 1996The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about bonus payments to Employment Service staff in Coventry. First I must make clear that no bonus payments have been made to staff in my Coventry offices. In three of the four ES offices in Coventry, strike action has been called by the Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA), and it seems that the Association is alleging that bonuses are being paid to staff remaining at work. That is not the case. It is open to the Employment Service to make bonus payments under the provisions of its Special Bonus Scheme which began operating in 1989. The Scheme criteria under which a bonus may be paid include recognition of "maintenance of operational effectiveness in exceptionally difficult circumstances". Under the Scheme, bonus payments may be authorised by my Regional Directors where they believe the circumstances to warrant such a payment. There is no requirement for discussions to take place between the Employment Service and the Department for Education and Employment in relation to payments made under the ES Special Bonus Scheme. My Regional Director for the West Midlands, Rosemary Thew, is currently considering whether to make a bonus payment to staff remaining in work at Coventry. Such a payment would reflect the particularly difficult circumstances at the offices in the City; staff remaining at work are ensuring that the offices continue to function, thus allowing benefit payments and services to be offered to unemployed people and employers in Coventry. Any payment made would have no connection with the forthcoming introduction of the Jobseeker's Allowance. As I have indicated they would be designed to recognise the maintenance of services in the exceptionally difficult circumstances occasioned by strike action by those ES employees in Coventry who are members of the CPSA. You asked what the cost of paying people bonuses through the Special Bonus Scheme had been to date, and what the eventual cost will be. Some of my Regional Directors in regions other than the West Midlands have made bonus payments totalling £141,000 to people who are delivering our services from some offices affected by the dispute. It is not possible to inform you of the future total cost of such payments as many of my Regional Directors have not yet decided whether they should be made or, if so, for how much. I hope this is helpful.

Mr. Jim Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she has requested the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service to report into the dispute involving the Employment Service. [11840]

Mr. Forth

Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Mike Fogden to Mr. Jim Cunningham, dated 29 January 1996The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the involvement of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) in the trade dispute between the Employment Service and the Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA). In early December 1995 ACAS acted upon a request from the CPSA to offer its conciliation services to the parties involved in the dispute. I was pleased to agree to talks under the auspices of ACAS being planned for 19 December. However, at a late stage they were called off because the CPSA decided not to adhere to the agreement we had reached that it would order its striking members back to work before the talks started. I hope that this is helpful.