§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer of 4 May, Official Report, column 264, if he will provide comparable details on civil service retirement packages on grounds of inefficiency. [29283]
§ Mr. David HuntInefficiency is a ground for dismissal. An immediate lump sum payment of up to two years' salary may be made where a Department judges payment of compensation to be appropriate. Where compensation is agreed and the person dismissed is over age 55, this may be forgone in favour of immediate payment of the accrued superannuation benefits which would otherwise be preserved for payment at retiring age. There have been no departures on inefficiency grounds in the past five financial years from the Cabinet Office, including OPSS and its agencies, HMSO, or the COI.