HC Deb 20 March 1998 vol 308 cc765-6W
Mr. Edwards

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what policy he has put in place for the transfer and retention of staff of the non-departmental public bodies affected by the Government of Wales Bill; and if he will make a statement. [35965]

Mr. Ron Davies

In line with the proposals in the White Paper 'A Voice for Wales', I have agreed the following policy on the transfer and retention of staff of affected NDPBs and on the staff of the two Special Health Authorities which, although not directly affected by the Government of Wales Bill, will be joining the proposed National Assembly for Wales.

Careful consideration has been given to the need to ensure the continuity of management and customer service during a period of great change for these organisations. Once the overall structure of the 'economic powerhouse' and the relevant parts of the National Assembly is agreed then staff will be considered for the resulting posts as follows: staff in posts which remain largely unchanged will be able to retain these jobs if they wish; where a post has changed then internal applicants from the affected bodies will be able to apply in the first instance; if no suitable candidate is found, then the post may be subject to wider competition, including open advertisement.

Targeted voluntary early retirement/severance will also be used if and where necessary.

These principles were communicated to staff in December 1997 and underpin the arrangements now being planned or implemented by senior management in all of these organisations. Specific arrangements apply, or are expected to apply, to each of the affected organisations as follows:

  1. 1) All staff currently employed by Housing for Wales (Tai Cymru) who wish to transfer to the Welsh Office will be able to do so. A postings policy is in place to ensure fair competition for the posts in the new Housing Department of the Welsh Office. Those who are not successful in obtaining jobs in that Department, and who wish to join the National Assembly, will be offered posts elsewhere in the Welsh Office.
  2. 2) Subject to consultation, a similar policy will apply to staff of the Health Promotion Authority for Wales and those parts of the Welsh Health Common Services Authority which are to be transferred to the proposed National Assembly who have not taken voluntary early retirement/severance. Other staff in WHCSA will transfer to other parts of the NHS as agreed following a series of reviews currently being carried out.
  3. 3) All staff of the Development Board for Rural Wales and the Land Authority for Wales will transfer to the Agency on the abolition of those bodies, in accordance with the provisions of the Staff Transfer Order to be made under powers contained in clauses 122 and 128 of the Government of Wales Bill. All the staff of the three agencies are eligible to apply for early severance.

Staffing requirements following the establishment of the National Assembly and the 'economic powerhouse' will be a matter for those bodies to determine.