§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will make a statement on the current conditions on which civil servants in her Department are granted salary advances to enable the purchase of bicycles for home-to-office travel; if she will make a statement on the current conditions in each agency of her Department; what plans she has to change the conditions; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe conditions are as follows. Staff must be able to demonstrate an operational case justifying the advance or some other identifiable value-for-money improvement that can be achieved by the advance; applications for advances must be reasonable in relation to the amount of expenditure and the individual's grade; advances must be repaid over 12 months; and any outstanding balance must be repaid immediately if' the individual leaves the Department or sells or otherwise disposes of the bicycle. There are no plans to change these conditions.