HC Deb 11 June 1996 vol 279 cc115-6W
Mr. Donohoe

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what use her Department and its executive agencies have made of executive search agencies or employment companies in filling vacancies within her Department or executive agencies administered by her Department during the financial years 1994–95 and 1995–96; what agencies were employed; what was the cost in each case; how many staff were recruited in each case; and what was the total cost in each financial year of these contracts. [31419]

Mr. Robin Squire

The Department and its executive agencies have used the following executive search agencies or employment companies to fill the following posts:

  1. (i) St. James's Management Recruitment was used to fill the post of head of financial services branch and head of the accountancy profession for the former Department of Education group in 1994–95.
  2. (ii) Price Waterhouse was used to fill the post of permanent secretary to the former Department of Employment group in the same year.
  3. (iii) Korn/Ferry Carre/Orban International is currently being used to fill the post of chief executive of the Employment Service.

Details of the individual contracts concerned are commercially confidential.

Mr. Donohoe

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much her Department spent in recruiting staff to her Department and its executive agencies during the 1994–95 and 1995–96 financial years; and how many staff were recruited in each of these years. [31404]

Mr. Squire

The Department and its executive agencies spent a total of £119,366 on staff recruitment during 1994–95, and £85, 484 on staff recruitment during 1995–96. In 1994–95, 734 permanent staff, 59 fixed-term appointees and 1,482 casual staff were recruited by the Department and its executive agencies. In 1995–96, 212 permanent staff, 284 fixed-term appointees and 4,227 casual staff were recruited.

Mr. Donohoe

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment in what circumstances her Department or its executive agencies uses an executive search or employment agency to recruit staff in preference to using personnel staff within her own Department or its executive agencies. [31532]

Mr. Squire

The Department uses executive search agencies primarily to fill senior vacancies. Once a decision has been made to fill such a vacancy by open competition, the decision whether to use an executive search agency is taken on a case-by-case basis, depending on the nature of the post, the type of person being sought and whether advertisement alone would produce a satisfactory field of candidates. For members of the senior civil service, the Department follows advice in "Guidance on Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment to Senior Posts", a procedural guide to Departments produced by the civil service commissioners.

Apart from occasional use of employment agencies to provide agency staff, other recruitment is handled by internal personnel staff and line managers involving the civil service recruitment and assessment services where appropriate.