HC Deb 21 March 2002 vol 382 c500W
Mr. Laws

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many employees in(a) her Department and (b) her Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies have had private medical insurance provided for them in each year since 1997–98; what the total cost is; and if she will make a statement. [32317]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

[holding answer 6 February 2002): The Civil Service Management Code specifically precludes the provision of private medical insurance as a part of any structured remuneration package for civil servants. Consequently, private medical insurance is not a feature of the Department for Education and Skills' (DfES') terms and conditions of employment.

The employees of DfES' non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are not civil servants. Four of DIES' NDPBs—the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI), Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) and Learning and Skills Council (LSC)—offer private medical insurance to some employees.

Neither the CITB nor ECITB are publicly funded. The ALI and LSC are both obliged to offer private medical insurance to some employees under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations. The total number of employees covered and the annual costs of private medical insurance provision since 1997–98 is as follows:

Year Employees Cost (£000)
1997–19981 8 6.7
1998–19991 9 9.0
1999–20001 8 8.5
2000–2001 1 9 9.4
2001–20022 1,215 514.0
1 CITB and ECITB.
ALI and LSC. Figures for the CITB and ECITB are not yet available.