§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport when assistant chief driving examiners in the Driving Standards Agency were made equivalent in grade to senior executive officers; when the agency made this decision; when the appropriate trade unions were consulted; what powers within the agency's framework document were invoked to make this decision; and if senior executive officers will be eligible for assistant chief driving examiner posts.
§ Mr. KeyResponsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Driving Standards Agency under its chief executive, Dr. John Ford. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
649WLetter from John Ford to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 4 May 1994:
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your question about Assistant Chief Driving Examiners and Senior Executive Officers having equivalent status.The Assistant Driving Examiner grade was established many years ago, and has always been on a comparable pay scale to that for the Senior Executive Officers, and is therefore classed as an equivalent grade. The pay scales were set at national not at Agency level and the relevant trade unions were consulted during negotiations. The Agency has followed the Departmental line on this issue and has not therefore had to invoke any powers within its framework document.Lateral transfers of staff between jobs in different disciplines, of roughly equivalent levels are provided for in Civil Service terms and conditions as set out in the Staff Handbook. Therefore Senior Executive Officers would be eligible to be considered for Assistant Chief Driving Examiner posts, although training in the specialist aspects of the driving test would be required.