§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer of 2 May, Official Report, column 145, if he will provide comparable details on civil service early retirement packages on grounds of inefficiency. [29292]
§ Miss Widdecombe[holding answer 19 June 1995]: Inefficiency is a ground for dismissal rather than early retirement. In some circumstances, usually where the inefficiency is deemed not to be the fault of the individual, a lump sum payment of up to two years' salary may be made. Where compensation is agreed and the person dismissed is over age 55, that may be forgone in favour of immediate payment of the accrued superannuation benefits that would otherwise be preserved for payment at retiring age.
Information is readily available for only the last four financial years, during which there have been 172 departures on inefficiency grounds from the Department. Details of the individual payments made could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, but the number of dismissals on inefficiency showing whether or not compensation was paid is given in the table: