§ Mr. ClaphamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employees of his Department retired through work-related ill health in the last year for which records are available; and what the cost to the Department was. [56061]
§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 20 May 2002]Records are not maintained by the Home Department which enable ill health retirements to be separately identified as work-related. Our records indicate that for the Home Department the number of staff with a medical retirement certificate issued by the Civil Service pension scheme medical adviser for the period 1 January 2001–31 December 2001 was 505. Benefits provided on medical retirement are set out in the rules of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme and laid before Parliament, and provide for an immediate payment of enhanced pension and lump sum. Ill health retirement expenditure is met centrally from the Civil Superannuation Vote. For the year ending March 2002, provisional expenditure met from the vote was £310 million in respect of all Civil Service cases for which an ill health pension has been awarded. These cases number approximately 67,000 and include those who have formally been ill health retired but who have now reached and exceeded the normal retirement age.