HC Deb 15 October 2001 vol 372 cc871-3W
Mr. Brady

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the compulsory retirement ages which apply to employees of his Department and of executive agencies and other public sector bodies for which it is resposible, broken down by grade or job title. [7235]

Dr. Whitehead

Information on the normal retirement age and on compulsory early retirement or severance for my Department and for the executive agencies and public sector bodies for which it is responsible is as followsGrades listed1—normal retirement age of 65. Bands 3 up to 6 (and equivalents) (i.e. EO, HEO, SEO, G7, G6 and equivalents)—normal retirement age of 60. Senior Civil Servants—normal retirement age of 60. There are the following exceptions: Subject to the terms and conditions when they joined DTLR, there is a "short-service concession" for most non-senior civil servants in Bands 3 and above with less than 20 years accumulated service to continue to work until they reach 20 years or age 65, whichever is the earlier. This not available to Air Accident Inspectors, or those who became Crown employees working in the former Department of Transport after 31 March 1997. The Department may also invite staff to stay beyond the normal retirement age but not beyond age 70. Former Home Office staff who transferred to DTLR as part of the Machinery of Government changes in June 2001 are currently subject to the retirement policy of the Home Office. In non-departmental public bodies where staff are included in the Local Government Pension Scheme, the retirement age is 65. Variations within the agencies The following executive agencies have these variations: Driving Standards Agency: Senior Driving Examiners and Supervising Driving Examiners have a normal retirement age of 63; at present, to stay until 65 they would have to revert to Driving Examiners. The Fire Service College: Industrial staff have a retirement age of 65. The Planning Inspectorate: Planning Inspectors re-employed on flexible short-term contracts up to a maximum age of 65. The QEII Conference Centre: Normal retirement age of 60 for all staff. The Rent Service: Those staff transferred under TUPE protection from their local government employer have remained within the Local Government Pension Scheme. They may retire at age 65, although the scheme does allow them to retire at 60 should they so wish. Vehicle Inspectorate: Industrial employees Band 1 (Tester/Handy Person) in post by 1 May 1994 and over 50 can remain until 65. In other cases the retirement age is 60, with the exception of a short service concession for Band 1 Testers and Band 2 AVEs provided they were in post prior to 31 March 1997. Compulsory early retirement or severance. In exceptional cases, such as redundancy, staff may receive benefits calculated in accordance with the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. Staff aged 50 and over are normally considered for benefits under the early retirement provisions and staff under age 50 are considered for severance payments. Eligibility depends on age and length of service. Note1 Crown employees who worked in the former Department of the Environment

  • Administrative Assistant
  • Administrative Officer
  • Assistant Scientific Officer
  • Chief Typing Manager
  • Communication Officer I
  • Communication Officer II
  • Communication Officer III
  • Communication Officer IV
  • Housing and Planning Inspectors (main grade and senior inspectors)
    • 873W
  • Personal Secretary
  • Process and General Supervisory Grades
  • Senior Personal Secretary
  • Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent Custody Guards
  • Support Manager I
  • Support Manager II
  • Support Manager III
  • Support Grade I
  • Support Grade II
  • Support Grade IIA
  • Technical Grade I and 2
  • Trainee Typist
  • Typing Manager
  • Typist
Crown employees who worked in the former Department of Transport
  • Administrative Assistant
  • Administrative Officer
  • Assistant Scientific Officer
  • Chief Typing Manager
  • Civil Engineer (SPTO and below)
  • Personal Secretary
  • Process and General Supervisory D
  • Process and General Supervisory E
  • Senior Personal Secretary
  • SGB2 (Cleaner—less than 10 hours weekly)
  • Stores Officer Grade D
  • Support Grade—Band 1
  • Support Grade—Band 2
  • Support Grade—Band 2A
  • Support Manager 1
  • Support Manager 2
  • Support Manager 3
  • Teleprinter operator
  • Typing Manager
  • Typist and Trainee Typist.