§ Mr. HarveyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about the delay which has occurred in relation to the staff pay rise in the Insolvency Service; and if interest has been paid on the late pay. [12017]
Mr. John M. TaylorI have asked the chief executive of the Insolvency Service to reply.
Letter from Desmond Flynn to Mr. Nick Harvey, dated 28 January 1997:
You asked the President of the Board of Trade for a statement about the timing of the staff pay rise in The Insolvency Service and whether interest has been paid; and, separately, you have written to the Minister, John Taylor MP, about this. These are matters which fall within the operational responsibility of Peter Joyce as Chief Executive of The Insolvency Service and I have therefore been asked to reply in Mr. Joyce's absence form the office.169WPay awards in the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and its Agencies are always put into effect as quickly as possible. The existing pay system incorporates a settlement date which is used for calculation purposes as soon as any award is finalised.DTI pay administration staff and the Chessington Computer Centre implement pay awards individually once they have been initiated by Insolvency Service management. Within The Insolvency Service, we have recently experienced problems arising from a backlog of recruitment and promotion boards following decision on the Options exercise on contracting out certain areas of our work. The timetable for processing and paying awards depends on the negotiating timetable, the reporting cycle, and the need to adjust systems and to train staff to ensure accurate implementation of each pay settlement. In a performance-based system, the performance box marking and the negotiated settlement must both be known before action is taken on individual awards.In 1996 DTI established a standard reporting cycle of April-March, but the settlement date for most staff remained at 1 April; in 1997 DTI plans to standardise the settlement date at 1 August. Under the new delegated arrangements on pay awards our intention will be to try and process staff reports, negotiate the collective awards and implement the individual awards nearer to the settlement date. Under the existing arrangements however calculating back to a settlement date has been unavoidable. Although it was not possible to predict exactly how long the whole process will take, DTI management has of course been aware of this position and took it into account in calculating and negotiating pay offers. There is no right to interest on pay increases in the pay system.In the coming year, 1997/98 transitional provisions relating to the question of pay awards will be needed to move to common settlement date and because a new pay system is being introduced on 1 August. The new system is being developed to be simpler to administer and more stream-lined than the old one bringing closer together in time settlement reference dates and the finalisation of any award of a pay increase for individuals.