§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many employees in her Department took early retirement and at what total cost, in the last financial year. [170824]
§ Alun MichaelIn 2003–04, 45 Defra employees took early retirement at a total cost of £6,109,000.
641W33 of these left the Department under the provisions of the Early Departure Scheme, which falls within strand four of the Defra Change programme. Departures consisted of eight SCS, four Grade 6s and 21 Grade 7s. The total cost amounted to 5,204,000.
The remaining 11 employees who took early retirement cost a total of £905,000. They consisted of four HEOs; one SAHO; two EOs; one AO; two typists; and one SGB2.