HC Deb 15 March 1995 vol 256 cc581-2W
Ms Harman

To ask the Attorney-General 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.

The Attorney-General

Specimen letters setting out the terms of employment for all staff employed on a temporary contract by the Crown Prosecution Service, Serious Fraud Office and Treasury Solicitor's department accompany this answer and have been supplied to the hon. Member. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House. The letter used by the Government Property Lawyers is the same as for the Treasury Solicitor's department.

Ms Harman

To ask the Attorney-General for the current 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.

The Attorney-General

The number of employees in the Department and agencies for which I am responsible who have been employed on temporary contracts of 51 weeks or less and re-employed in the same or similar position at a later date over the past five years are:

Crown Serious Prosecution Service Serious Fraud Office Treasury Solicitor's Department Property Lawyers
Current year 19 0 Nil
1994 88 3 5 Nil
1993 85 3 5 Nil
1992 52 4 1 Nil
1991 46 1 2 Nil
1990 33 0 3 Nil

Ms Harman

To ask the Attorney-General 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.

The Attorney-General

The Crown Prosecution Service is unable to forecast the number of posts which will he filled by temporary staff in the CPS during the next three years.

The numbers of temporary staff estimated to he employed by the Serious Fraud Office, Treasury Solicitor's department and Government Property Lawyers in each of the next three years is as follows:

1995–96 1996–97 1997–98
Serious Fraud Office 31 33 35
Treasury Solicitor's Department 7 7 7
Government Property Lawyers 3 3 3

All such employments are expected to be on contracts for less than 51 weeks. It is not possible to predict whether any such temporary staff will have previously been so employed.

Ms Harman

To ask the Attorney-General 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.

The Attorney-General

As at 28 February 1995, a total of 17 prosecutor posts were filled by employees on temporary contracts of(a) 51 weeks or (b) less than 51 weeks duration. Additionally, 224 administrative staff and 52 staff in other support grades were employed on similar terms.

The Serious Fraud Office at present employs 24 administrative staff and one accountant on temporary contracts of 51 weeks or less.

The Treasury Solicitor's department at present employs eight lawyers, three litigation clerks, four administrative staff and one porter/handyman on temporary contracts of 51 weeks or less.

The Government Property Lawyers at present employs three lawyers and eight administrative staff on temporary contracts of 51 weeks or less.

Ms Harman

To ask the Attorney-General 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.

The Attorney-General

The recruitment handbook for the Crown Prosecution Service defines the circumstances in which casual—non-permanent—appointments are appropriate. This has been supplemented by further instructions circulated to all staff with responsibility for recruitment decisions.

The Serious Fraud Office, the Treasury Solicitor's department and the Government Property Lawyers follow the guidance set out in the civil service management code, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.