§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 2 May, Official Report, column 152, if he will provide comparable details on civil service early retirement packages on grounds of inefficiency. [29290]
§ Mr. NorrisInefficiency 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 four departures on inefficiency grounds in the past five financial years. Details are contained in the table.
Benefits payable at age 60 Year Number of cases Immediate compensation lump sum £ Annual pension £ Pension lump sum £ 1990–91 11 Nil Nil Nil 1991–92 to 1993–94 Nil n/a n/a n/a 1994–95 3 12,221 1,932 5,798 4,476 1,253 3,759 19,256 3,770 11,059 1 The officer had under two years service and did not qualify for benefits.