§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what delegations have been made since the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act received royal assent on 17 December 1992; to whom those delegations were made; and what were the main conditions that were attached to them.
§ Mr. DorrellThe table lists delegations made under the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992 to date. In some cases, for staff appointed by statutory office holders, Ministers were statutorily required to give consent to terms and conditions of service. For such staff, delegation has been effected by waiving that requirement, subject to the conditions attached to the delegation.
The first five delegations in the list apply generally across the civil service. The delegations relating to pay apply only to particular departments and agencies as shown in the table.
In total, Departments and agencies employing over half of all civil servants will have assumed responsibility for their own pay and grading by April 1994. I expect other such delegations to follow in 1995 as further Government agencies and Departments bring forward proposals for their own pay and grading arrangements. 247W
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List of Delegations made under the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992 Delegation Nature of Delegation Recipients Main Conditions 1. Delegation of Minimum Recruitment Criteria Authority to set appropriate eligibility criteria (so far as they relate to knowledge, ability, professional attainment, aptitude or potential) for recruitment to non-scheduled grades in respect of members of the Home Civil Service. Ministers in charge of departments and statutory and certain other office holders.1 Managers must: (i) ensure that their recruitment systems consistently deliver recruits who are appropriate to their needs and who are able to do the work required in the grade to which they are appointed; (ii) maintain and make use of adequate records of their recruitment activities and the performance of successful candidates to demonstrate that (i) continues to be met; and (iii) observe Civil Service Management Code rules on age limits. 2. Delegation of Personnel Management: Travel Authority to determine in respect of Home Civil Servants: Ministers in charge of departments and statutory and certain other office holders.1 Departments must ensure that the most efficient and economic means of travel is used, taking into account the cost of travel and the cost of subsistence and savings in official time. (a) the class of travel that maybe given to staff traveling on official business in the United Kingdom and overseas, and to staff and members of their household where departments have discretion to offer concessionary travel in the United Kingdom and overseas; and All costs arising from the exercise of this delegation must be met from within agreed resources. (b) the conditions under which financial assistance with overseas journeys is given in respect of staff and members of their household. 3. Overseas Accountable Entertainment Allowance Authority for determining the hospitality allowances to assist members of the Home Civil Service serving overseas. Ministers in charge of departments and statutory and certain other office holders.1 All costs arising from the exercise of this delegation must be found from within existing cash and running costs limits. 4. Delegation of United Kingdom Relocation Expenses. Authority to determine the rules on the expenses that may be paid to members of the Home Civil Service who permanently transfer to another office (or move on appointment) within the United Kingdom and who move their homes, or who incur additional travelling costs, as a result. Ministers in charge of departments and statutory and certain other office holders.1 The terms offered in exercising this delegation must be cost effective compared with the alternatives and the expenditure must be found from within existing running costs and cash limits. The expenses must be based on reimbursement, must not provide for betterment and must not go beyond what is provided by other employers. There are limits on advances of salary and equity loss compensation. 5. Delegation of Rent for key staff who occupy government owned residential properties. Authority to determine a departmental/agency rent. Ministers in charge of departments and statutory and certain other office holders.1 The rent must be consistent with the market rent that the key member of staff and his or her family would reasonably be expected to pay at the same or similar location for accommodation which met their normal requirements. The rent may be adjusted if it is necessary to encourage staff to transfer to a key post, or attract new staff to a key post, or to retain existing staff. Any additional expenditure which results from exercising this delegation must be found from within existing running costs and cash limits.
Delegation Nature of Delegation Recipients Main Conditions 6. Delegation of pay and certain pay-related conditions of service. Authority to determine pay and certain pay-related conditions of service of civil servants below the Senior Open Structure (with the exception of retirement and redundancy, the reinstatement and re-employment of persons in the service and the redeployment of staff between departments). Agency Chief Executives are also excluded from the scope of the delegations. Ministers in charge of departments and statutory officeholders,1 as appropriate, for the following organisations: (i) The recipient must continue to comply with certain sections of the Civil Service Management Code. Employment Service Fire Service College Inland Revenue Ordnance Survey Valuation Office Agency (ii) Changes made to terms and conditions must provide value for money and be made in a way which does not jeopardise essential public expenditure safeguards. 1 The statutory and certain other office holders are: First Parliamentary Counsel Government Actuary Director General of Fair Trading Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies National Debt Commissioners/National Public Works Loan Commissioners Director General of Telecommunications First Crown Estate Commissioner Director, Office of Gas Supply Director, Office of Electricity Regulation Director, Office of Water Services Director, Serious Fraud Office Chief Inspector, Office for standards in Education Director, Intervention Board Commissioners for the Board of the Inland Revenue Commissioners for Customs and Excise Director of Public Prosecutions Registrar General, Office of Population Censuses and Surveys* Chief Charity Commissioner, Charity Commission* Registrar General, General Register office (Scotland)* Executive, Health and Safety The Service, Advisory and Conciliation Those marked with a * received only the delegation in respect of Minimum Recruitment Criteria.