§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much he expects his Department to spend on early retirement packages over the next five years; and how much the Department and its predecessor spent on such packages in the last five years. [99053]
§ Mr. McCartneyHistorical costs associated with early exits from the Department's predecessors are only available for the last four years.
(£) 2002–03 11,720,398 (to the end of January 03) 2001–02 15,850,518 2000–01 21,867,831 1999–00 24,227,124 These include the cost of continuing annual payments.
The need for early retirement packages is kept under review.