§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many employees in (i) his Department and (ii) all
Full time equivalent United Kingdom based civilian staff rounded to nearest hundred 1 April 1990 1 April 1991 1 April 1992 1 April 1993 1 April 1994 1 January 1995 Total MOD staff 142,900 141,500 141,000 131,600 124,100 120,300 Total casual staff 1,500 1,300 1,500 2,400 2,500 2,800 as a percentage of total 1.05 0.92 1.06 1.82 2.01 2.33 Total casual staff with 51 or more weeks of service n/a n/a n/a 200 300 400 as a percentage of total — — — 0.15 0.24 0.33 Total casual staff with less than 51 weeks of service n/a n/a n/a 2,200 2,200 2,400 as a percentage of total — — — 1.67 1.77 2.00 Total agency staff 3,100 25,300 27,500 30,300 29,400 28,500 Total agency casual staff 0 200 200 400 500 500 as a percentage of total agency staff 0.00 0.79 0.73 1.32 1.70 1.75 Total agency casual staff with 51 or more weeks of service n/a n/a n/a 100 100 100 as a percentage of total agency staff — — — 0.33 0.34 0.35 Total agency casual staff with less than 51 weeks of service n/a n/a n/a 300 400 400 as a percentage of total agency staff — — — 0.99 1.36 1.40 Note:
Figures marked as n/a are not available. The information has been held in a form which allows such analysis only since April 1993.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people he expects to employ in (i) his Department and (ii) all executive agencies for which he is responsible on temporary contracts of(a) 51 weeks or (b) less than 51 weeks duration in the next three years, in each case specifying the number of employees who had previously been employed in a similar position on the same contract.
§ Mr. FreemanThe fact that casual staff are recruited only where there is a genuine management need for short-term assistance—for example to cover unexpected and unforeseen increases in work load—means that it is not possible to predict the demand for casual staff. My Department cannot, therefore, forecast numbers needed one or more years in advance. Casual appointments may not exceed two years, even in exceptional cases. If the staff requirement can be identified far enough in advance, or if it is likely to he of longer duration, then other recruitment action should be taken and staff should be employed on different terms of service.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence for this year and each of the past five years, how many employees in (i) his Department and (ii) all executive agencies for which his Department is responsible who have been employed on temporary contracts of(a) 51 weeks or (b) less than 51 weeks duration are re-employed in the same or similar position at a later date.
§ Mr. FreemanThe figures available for UK-based staff are as follows:
644Wexecutive agencies supervised by his Department have been employed on temporary contracts of (a) 51 weeks or (b) less than 51 weeks duration for this year and each of the past five years, in each case specifying what percentage of the respective total workforce these employees constitute.
§ Mr. FreemanThe available figures requested are as follows:
Leaving date in financial year 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 Staff employed more than once as casuals with a total of less than 51 weeks service 333 228 265 Casual staff employed more than once as casuals with a total of 51 weeks or more service 19 39 50 In no case were staff employed under these terms for two years or more. Information on the positions held by staff in each appointment is not available without a manual search of all the relevant personnel records.
Data for earlier years are not available in a form which would enable this analysis to be done except at disproportionate cost.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance has been issued in respect of the recruitment and appointment of non-permanent employees in (i) his Department and (ii) all executive agencies supervised by his Department.
§ Mr. FreemanMy Department and its executive agencies issue general guidance to managers and specific guidance to recruitment authorities on the circumstances in which it may be appropriate to recruit casual staff. This guidance incorporates the principles of the civil service management code, and emphasises that casual staff should he appointed only where there is management requirement 645W for short-term assistance. Casual staff should not be recruited if the requirement is likely to be longer term.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what positions in (i) his Department and (ii) all executive agencies for which his Department is responsible are filled by employees who are employed on temporary contracts of(a) 51 weeks or (b) less than 51 weeks duration.
§ Mr. FreemanInformation about individual posts and individual lengths of contract held by casual staff is held manually and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Details of casual staff in my Department and its agencies categorised by broad occupational groups, showing those who have served fewer than 51 weeks and those who have served 51 weeks or more are as follows:
Non-agency non-industrial casual staff with less than 51 weeks service as at March 1995 Number Admin and secretarial staff 1,066 Specialist staff 106 Medical staff 104 Students 131 Miscellaneous 76
Non-agency non-industrial casual staff with 51 or more weeks service as at March 1995 Number Admin and secretarial staff 119 Specialist staff 25 Medical staff 23 Students 10 Miscellaneous 11
Agency non-industrial casual staff with less than 51 weeks service as at March 1995 Number Admin and secretarial staff 141 Specialist staff 75 Medical staff 1 Students 77 Miscellaneous 24
646W
Agency non-industrial casual staff with 51 weeks service or more as at March 1995 Number Admin and secretarial staff 38 Specialist staff 24 Medical staff 1
Agency non-industrial casual staff with 51 weeks service or more as at March 1995 Number Students 10 Miscellaneous 0
Industrial casual staff including agencies Number Industrial casual staff with less than 51 weeks service 1,171 Industrial casual staff with 51 weeks service or more 171 Records by agency for industrial staff are not held in the form requested and could be extracted only at disproportionate cost.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will publish the full terms of employment as specified to employees in his Department and all executive agencies for which he is responsible who are employed on a temporary contract of(a) 51 weeks or (b) less than 51 weeks' duration;
(2) if he will publish the full terms of employment as specified to employees in his Department and all executive agencies for which he is responsible who are employed on a temporary contract of (a) 51 weeks or (b) less than 51 weeks' duration.
§ Mr. FreemanNo distinction is made between casual staff employed for 51 weeks or less than 51 weeks. Casual staff are recruited to fill short-term appointments of up to one year—and, exceptionally, up to two years—in accordance with the civil service management code. These centrally prescribed principles and standards are reflected in departmental or agency rules. Letters of appointment state the terms and conditions of service for such staff as set out in departmental or agency manuals, but may also be amended to reflect particular departmental needs—for example, full or part-time appointment.