§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if it is the present policy of the Contributions Agency to require its staff to retire at age 60 years; [64415]
(2) if he will state the whole time equivalent employment at each Contributions Agency site in the Tyne and Wear area at (a) 1 April 1996, (b) 1 April 1997 and (c) the most recent available date; and how many employees were over 60 years of age at each date. [64419]
§ Mr. TimmsThis is a matter for George Bertram, the Chief Executive of the Contributions Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from George Bertram to Mr. Jim Cousins, dated 17 December 1998:
As Chief Executive of the Contributions Agency (CA) I have responsibility for answering questions about operational matters relating to the Agency. I have been asked to reply to your questions about the Agency's retirement policy and staffing levels in the Tyne and Wear area.The CA's current retirement policy is based upon corporate Department of Social Security policy and requires all employees to retire at age 60. The policy was implemented on 31 July 1998. The previous policy required employees to retire at age 60 unless they were employed at Executive Officer level or below. For Executive Officers retirement was at age 62 and for employees below this level at age 65. Transitional arrangements enable employees at Executive Officer level or below who were over age 60 on or after 31 July 1998 to be retained until no later than 31 July 1999 in the following circumstances:Their performance, attendance and conduct fully met the requirements of the job;Their job is not included in an area of work where there were planned redundancies;There are no local early retirement schemes planned for employees at the same level;Their retirement would lead, either directly or indirectly, to the need for external recruitment;The hardship that would be suffered would override any existing business need.CA has no plans to extend the transitional arrangements beyond 31 July 1999. From 1 April 1999 CA will become part of Inland Revenue. Their retirement policy requires employees to retire at age 60. CA management is in negotiation with Trade Unions to determine the policy that will apply to CA employees on transfer. The outcome of these negotiations has not yet been concluded.The number of CA employees employed at each site on the Newcastle estate on 1 April 1996, 1 April 1997 and 1 December 1998 are as follows:712W
Location Number of CA staff 1 April 1996 Scottish Life House 94 Lancaster House 97 Hebburn 507 Bellway Stores 17 Alfred Wilson House 476 Kenton Bar 601 Broadway West 52 Longbenton Main Site 4,156 1 April 1997 Scottish Life House 94 Lancaster House 97 Hebburn 507 Bellway Stores 17 Alfred Wilson House 476 Kenton Bar 443 Broadway West 26 Longbenton Main Site 4,040 1 December 1998 Hebburn 507 Bellway Stores 17 Alfred Wilson House 476 Kenton Bar 540 Broadway West 26 Longbenton Main Site 4,134 The number of employee's aged 60 or over on the above dates are as follows:
Date Number of employees Date aged 60 or over 1 April 1996 118 1 April 1997 90 1 December 1998 50 This data is the total number of employee's aged 60 or over in all buildings on the Newcastle estate. We do not keep figures for each individual building so I cannot provide you with this data from our records.