§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in respect of the market-testing exercise at the supply and transport division of the Prison Department, how many staff have so far accepted the redundancy terms which were imposed last October; how much the redundancy has cost; and what has been the cost of recruiting replacements so far.
§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Alun Michael, dated 20 May 1993:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your Question about the market testing exercise at the Supply and Transport Branch of the Prison Service.
In September 1992, 106 staff at Branston and 34 staff at Leeds were issued with redundancy notices. Eighty-nine staff have accepted the redundancy terms offered and the total redundancy payments to be made to those staff is currently estimated at £687,000.
Recruitment of new staff for the Branston warehouse is being undertaken by local Supply and Transport management as part of their normal function. There were minimal administrative costs for advertising in the local press, postage, etc., which are estimated not to exceed £100.