| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Freight Train Derailment (Barry)
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects the Health and Safety Executive to publish the report of its investigation into the freight train derailment at Barry on 27 December 1997. [65265]
Ms Glenda Jackson: The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) intend to publish the results of its investigation into this incident before the end of January.
Equal Opportunities Guidance
Mr. McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if he will place DETR Centre's Guidance on Equal Opportunities in the Library; [64927]
- (2) if he will place a copy of his Department's Policy Appraisal for Equal Treatment in the Library. [64867]
Mr. Meale: I have placed a copy of this in the Library.
Performance-related Pay
Mr. McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what his Department's objectives are in providing performance- related pay. [64922]
Mr. Meale: The Department's objective in providing performance-related pay is to reward staff in a way which takes account of their performance.
Departmental Staff
Mr. McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what studies of appraisal systems have been carried out in his Department and the former Departments of Transport and Environment in the past five years. [64921]
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 171
Mr. Meale:
The following studies have been carried out in the past five years:
Mr. McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the basis for the 4/5ths equality rule used by personnel management in his Department. [64923]
Mr. Meale:
The 4/5ths rule is used as a preliminary "rule of thumb" indicator to check for statistically significant variations between groups.
Mr. McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what internal specialist advice was used to help (a) draw up the specification and (b) evaluate the tenders for the study into the differential performance markings in DETR (C). [64916]
Mr. Meale:
The specification was cleared with the Department's procurement policy advisers. A copy of the draft specification was also sent to the Trade Union Side prior to issue for comment. Tenders were evaluated by Personnel Management against the criteria set out in the specification.
Mr. McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if DETR (C) operates, formally or informally, a system of quotas for staff performance markings. [64918]
Mr. Meale:
No. As part of the standard setting procedure to promote consistent standards of marking across DETR(C), we published an indicative set of marks based on the previous year's results as a guideline for standard setting officers in the 1998 appraisal round. These indicative marks are intended as a guide rather than a "quota" to be achieved and contribute to a process of "norming" designed to ensure that the system is fair. The final decision on individual performance marks rests with reporting officers applying the criteria in the appraisal guidance.
Mr. McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many DETR (C) staff are in post in each DETR (C) building, excluding the Government Offices, broken down by (a) grade, (b) gender, (c) ethnicity, (d) part/full time working and (e) disability. [64805]
Mr. Meale:
DETR(C) staff are based in approximately 50 buildings. Detailed breakdowns for each building cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate costs.
Mr. McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many standard-setting meetings took place as part of the 1998 appraisal round in DETR (C); what records are kept of
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 172
the outcomes of such meetings; and if individual civil servants' performance markings are discussed in such meetings. [64917]
Mr. Meale:
About 160 Standard Setting Meetings took place at the end of the reporting year. Records of the outcomes were kept to make comparisons between the performance marks agreed at the meeting and those eventually recorded. The purpose of the standard setting process it to promote fair and consistent standards across DETR(C) and a fundamental part of meeting this purpose requires the discussion of individual performance.
Mr. McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what were the appraisal performance markings awarded to civil servants in 1998 in (a) each agency associated with his Department and (b) each traffic area office broken down by (i) grade, (ii) gender, (iii) ethnicity, (iv) part/full time working and (v) disability; [64803]
Mr. Meale:
Staff in Traffic Area Offices are part of DETR(C) and are therefore included in the DETR(C) data already provided. With regard to executive agencies, I have asked Agency Chief Executives to reply separately for their respective agencies.
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions--an Investigation of the 1997/98 Appraisal System, Pearn Kandola, December 1998.
Evaluation of the New Staff Appraisal Systems in the former Departments of Environment and Transport, Institute of Employment Studies, October 1997.
Staff Appraisal: Report of the Working Group--part of the internal review of the Department of the Environment, 1995.
Evaluation of Staff Reporting Bias in the Department of Transport, Civil Service College, October 1995.
(2) if the Cabinet Office's 4/5s rule used to check for potential adverse impact has been applied to civil servants' performance markings in the 1998 report round in each of his Department's agencies (a) MCA, (b) DVLA, (c) VI, (d) QEII, (e) PINS, (f) DSA, (g) VCA and (h) HA. [64825]
| Male box markings | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full time | Part time | |||||||||||||
| All grades | 1 | 2 | 3+ | 3 | 3- | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3+ | 3 | 3- | 4 | 5 |
| Totals | -- | 7 | -- | 32 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 173
| Female box markings | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full time | Part time | |||||||||||||
| All grades | 1 | 2 | 3+ | 3 | 3- | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3+ | 3 | 3- | 4 | 5 |
| Totals | -- | 19 | -- | 34 | -- | -- | 2 | -- | 6 | -- | 7 | -- | -- | -- |
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 173
| Male | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full time | Part time | |||||||||||||
| All grades | 1 | 2 | 3+ | 3 | 3- | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3+ | 3 | 3- | 4 | 5 |
| Totals | -- | 6 | 1 | 23 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 173
| Female | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full time | Part time | |||||||||||||
| All grades | 1 | 2 | 3+ | 3 | 3- | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3+ | 3 | 3- | 4 | 5 |
| Totals | -- | 12 | -- | 30 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 3 | -- | 10 | -- | -- | -- |
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 173
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 173
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 175
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 175
Letter from Maurice Storey to Mr. John McDonnell, dated 12 January 1999:
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 176
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 175
I have been asked by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions to reply to your questions about staff report marks in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
The enclosed schedule provides annual staff report mark details broken down by grade and gender for the report round ending 30 June 1998. Grade breakdowns by ethnicity, part/full time
working and disability have not been provided where individuals might be identified as this would be contrary to Cabinet Office guidance on the confidentiality of staff records.
An analysis of the Agency's performance markings did not reveal any material adverse impact on MCA staff and it was not necessary therefore to apply the Cabinet Office's 4/5ths rule.
Performance marking standards continue to be monitored by the Agency's personnel branch to detect any potential adverse impact on staff.
| Box 1 | Box 2 | Box 3 | Box 4 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay band/grade | male | female | male | female | male | female | male | female |
| Pay Band A AA/CWA/TYP/SGB2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 41 | 79 | 95 | 1 | 0 |
| Pay Band B PS/AO/WO/SM3 | 0 | 6 | 52 | 39 | 120 | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| Pay Band C AIO/AD01/ADO(WM)(SM)/SO/SWO | 0 | 1 | 117 | 10 | 85 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Pay Band D IO/HEO/DO/HPTO/MS2 | 2 | 1 | 27 | 11 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Pay Band E SIO/SEO/IC/SPTO/MS1/SSO | 2 | 1 | 48 | 0 | 49 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Pay Band F PPTO/G7/PI | 2 | 1 | 31 | 2 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Pay Band G Grade 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 7 | 10 | 296 | 103 | 388 | 159 | 1 | 0 |
| Ethnic minorities (all grades) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Part/full time workers (all grades) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 9 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| Box 1 | Box 2 | Box 3 | Box 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disabled (all grades-no gender) | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 175
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 175
Letter from Maurice Newey to Mr. John McDonnell, dated 12 January 1999:
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 176
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 177
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 178
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 177
Further to Mr. Meale's Written Answer on this, I am pleased to provide the information requested for Civil Servants in the Vehicle Inspectorate. 707 reports have been received so far.
Table 1 shows these broken down into the various categories used in our Equal Opportunities monitoring process. Table 2-5 show the markings given by Vehicle Inspectorate Pay Band (explained in the Notes to the Tables) for the different categories of staff.
In accordance with Cabinet Office guidance, we have not given information in 2 categories, where numbers total less than 5 and where individuals might be identified.
The Vehicle Inspectorate does not apply the Cabinet Office 4/5ths rule of thumb to its performance appraisal markings. For declared ethnic minority and disabled staff, the numbers are just too small to enable us to make any meaningful or reliable comparisons with other groups--though we are trying to improve the reliability of our
employee database to support our very robust Equal Opportunities policies in these areas. These are already particularly effective in our employment of women, who now make up well over 30% of our workforce and who increasingly are reaching middle and senior level management positions in the Inspectorate. Generally speaking,
from reports received so far, a higher proportion of women employees are currently gaining Box 1 and 2 performance markings than their male counterparts.
Please do not hesitate to let me know if you need any further information.
| Band | Total | Male | Female | Disabled | White | Non- participant | Ethnic minorities | Part-time | Full-time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 98 | 68 | 30 | 1 | 62 | 36 | 0 | 30 | 68 |
| 2 | 235 | 119 | 116 | 6 | 179 | 53 | 3 | 36 | 199 |
| 3 | 212 | 190 | 22 | 6 | 182 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 210 |
| 4 | 117 | 98 | 19 | 0 | 107 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 110 |
| 5 | 32 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| 6 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| White | Non-participant | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band | Total | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4/5 |
| 1 | 98 | 1 | 31 | 30 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 2 |
| 2 | 235 | 10 | 120 | 49 | 4 | 34 | 15 | 0 |
| 3 | 212 | 15 | 113 | 54 | 3 | 12 | 9 | 0 |
| 4 | 117 | 8 | 66 | 33 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | 32 | 3 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Note:
In line with Cabinet Office Guidelines on confidentiality, it is not possible to provide performance markings for other Ethnic Minority categories, as numbers are less than 5.
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 177
| Male | Female | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band | Total | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4/5 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1 | 98 | 2 | 29 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 12 |
| 2 | 235 | 5 | 71 | 43 | 0 | 9 | 85 | 22 |
| 3 | 212 | 15 | 116 | 59 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 8 |
| 4 | 117 | 7 | 60 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 6 |
| 5 | 32 | 2 | 20 | 7 | 0 | * | * | 0 |
| 6 | 10 | * | * | * | * | * | * | * |
Note:
* Denotes category totalling less than 5, disregarded under Cabinet Office guidelines for safeguarding the identities of individuals.
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 177
| Part time | Full time | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band | Total | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4/5 |
| 1 | 98 | 0 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 29 | 35 | 2 |
| 2 | 235 | 2 | 25 | 9 | 12 | 131 | 56 | 0 |
| 3 | 212 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 126 | 67 | 0 |
| 4 | 117 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 67 | 35 | 0 |
| 5 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 7 | 0 |
| 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 177
| Disabled staff | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 13 | 0 | 10 | 3 |
Note 1 Vehicle Inspectorate Pay Bands
Band 1 Tester, Administrative Assistant, Handyperson, Typists
Band 2 Administrative Officer, Assistant Vehicle Examiner, Personal Secretaries
Band 3 Executive Officer, Traffic Examiner, Professional and Technical Officer (PTO), Senior Personal Secretaries
Band 4 Higher Executive Officer, Higher PTO, Senior Traffic Examiner
Band 5 Senior Executive Officer, Senior PTO
Band 6 Principal/Unified Grade 7
Band 7 Grade 6/Director
Note 2 Key to VI Performance Marking Scale
Box 1 Outstanding
Box 2 Significantly above normal requirements
Box 3 Meets normal requirements
Box 4 Some improvement necessary
Box 5 Unsatisfactory
Letter from Marcus C. Buck to Mr. John McDonnell, dated 12 January 1999:
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 179
Note:
Unrecorded (did not qualify for an Appraisal marking for 98) Male 4, Female 3
Letter from Derek Harvey to Mr. John McDonnell, dated 12 January 1999:
I have been asked by the Secretary of State for the Department of Environment and Transport and the Regions, to provide information regarding the Staff Appraisal Markings for the Centre.
The enclosed schedule details the combined Staff Appraisal Markings for the Centre. It was not possible, (if we are to compile with the Cabinet Office's ruling regarding confidentiality of individuals personal details) to show the information broken down by grade or ethnicity.
The centre does not use the "Four Fifth's Rule". Appraisal forms are audited by the Human Resources Department to ensure fairness and the non-use of discriminatory comments or implications of.
Box 1 Box 2 Box 3
Male Female Male Female Male Female
All staff -- 2 14 16 7 7
I attach a table of data for the Vehicle Certification Agency in response to your Parliamentary questions concerning the above.
It has not been possible to provide a gender or ethnicity breakdown in paybands 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 because, in line with Cabinet Office guidelines, data relating to staff's personal details, when the numbers in any category fall below five, may not be disclosed in order to protect the privacy of individual members of staff.
I can confirm that the four-fifths rule has not been used to check for potential adverse impact.
You will also wish to note that there were no disabled or part-time staff in VCA at the time of the 1998 ASR round, hence no separate columns in the table.
Note:
1. w/o = White/Other
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 180
Letter from Bernard Herdan to Mr. John McDonnell, dated 12 January 1999:
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 179
As Alan Meale promised in his written reply of December 1998, I am now responding to your Parliamentary Question about the 1998 appraisal performance markings for staff in this Agency.
As part of the 1998 Pay Agreement with the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) it was agreed that the settlement date of the annual pay negotiations would change in 1999 to 1 August rather than 1 April. It was also agreed that the annual performance reporting cycle would be brought into line with the new settlement date.
A revised annual report timetable has been agreed with PCS which means that all 1998 reports on DSA staff have been delayed until the first half of 1999. I am therefore unable to provide you with the information you requested for 1998 but I have attached details of appraisal performance markings for all DSA staff relating to the 1997 cycle.
| Box 1 | Box 2 | Box 3 | Box 4 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnic origin | male | female | male | female | male | female | male | female |
| White | 2 | 3 | 574 | 74 | 431 | 69 | 2 | 2 |
| Ethnic minorities | 1 | -- | 3 | 2 | 10 | 14 | -- | -- |
| Unrecorded non-participant | -- | 1 | 23 | 18 | 92 | 57 | 4 | -- |
| Total | 3 | 4 | 600 | 94 | 533 | 140 | 6 | 2 |
| Part-time | -- | -- | 1 | 8 | 8 | 21 | -- | -- |
| Disabled | -- | -- | 6 | -- | 3 | 1 | -- | -- |
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 181
Letter from Bernard Herdan to Mr. John McDonnell, dated 12 January 1999:
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 182
Letter from C. J. Shepley to Mr. John McDonnell, dated 12 January 1999:
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 181
As Alan Meale promised in his written reply of December 1998, I am now responding to your Parliamentary Question about the application of the Cabinet Office's 4/5ths rule to 1998 performance marking for staff in this Agency to check for potential adverse impact.
The 4/5th rule has not been applied in respect of staff in DSA. As you may know the rule is a guideline only, and is not a statistical test. It does not give an assurance that any differences are statistically sound nor prove discrimination one way or the other. However as part of the 1998 Pay Agreement with the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), we have agreed that a full equality proofing exercise will be carried out, jointly between DSA and PCS, on all staff performance reports completed on DSA staff in 1999. Meetings with PCS are scheduled for January 1999 for the equality proofing exercise to commence. The exact method of analysis, which might well include the 4/5th rule as a benchmark, will be agreed between both sides in normal negotiations.
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions has asked me to reply to your Questions in which you asked:
1. whether, in the 1998 report round, we applied the Cabinet Office's "4/5ths rule" to the performance markings of Inspectorate staff; and
2. what were the appraisal performance markings awarded to Inspectorate staff broken down by (i) grade, (ii) gender, (iii) ethnicity, (iv) part time/full time working and (v) disability.
The answer to your first question is "no".
In answer to your second question I attach a table showing a breakdown of the 1998 performance markings for Inspectorate staff. Where there are fewer than 5 people in the ethnic minority, disability or part-time categories we have suppressed the information in order to maintain the confidentiality of personal information.
| Ethnicity | Disability | Part time | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance mark | Male | Female | m | f | m | f | m | f |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 2A | 6 | 8 | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 2B | 8 | 22 | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 3 | 14 | 11 | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 4 | -- | -- | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 5 | -- | -- | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| Total in Grade | 29 | 42 | (6)-- | (6)-- | (6)-- | (6)-- | (6)-- | (6)-- |
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 181
| Ethnicity | Disability | Part time | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance mark | Male | Female | m | f | m | f | m | f |
| 1 | 2 | 4 | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 2A | 13 | 24 | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 2B | 28 | 44 | * | * | * | * | * | 10 |
| 3 | 20 | 30 | * | * | * | * | * | 5 |
| 4 | 1 | -- | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 5 | -- | -- | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| Total in Grade | 64 | 102 | (6)-- | (6)-- | (6)-- | (6)-- | (6)-- | (6)-- |
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 181
(6) included within grade totals
Note:
* = less than 5 people in group
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 181
| Ethnicity | Disability | Part time | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance mark | Male | Female | m | f | m | f | m | f |
| 1 | -- | 1 | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 2A | 6 | 6 | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 2B | 10 | 5 | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 3 | 7 | 3 | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 4 | -- | -- | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 5 | -- | -- | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| Total in Grade | 23 | 15 | (7)-- | (7)-- | (7)-- | (7)-- | (7)-- | (7)-- |
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 183
| Ethnicity | Disability | Part time | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance mark | Male | Female | m | f | m | f | m | f |
| 1 | 1 | -- | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 2A | 2 | -- | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 2B | 9 | 1 | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 3 | 5 | 1 | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 4 | -- | -- | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 5 | -- | -- | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| Total in Grade | 17 | 2 | (7)-- | (7)-- | (7)-- | (7)-- | (7)-- | (7)-- |
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 183
(7) Included within grade totals
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 183
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 183
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 183
(8) Included within grade totals
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 183
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 185
@Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. John McDonnell, dated 12 January 1999:
Mr. McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many civil servants in each grade in DETR (C), broken down by (a) gender, (b) ethnicity, (c) part/full time working and (d) disability, will be paid performance-related pay if it is agreed to make a second-stage payment based on performance markings arising from the 1998 appraisal round. [64924]
Mr. Meale:
If it is decided that the 1998 Settlement is to be differentiated according to performance then all staff with a C marking will get at least 2.8 per cent. whilst all those with a B2 will get 3.4 per cent.; all those with a B1 will get 4.0 per cent. and all those with an A will get 4.6 per cent., subject to an increase of at least 3.5 per cent. inclusive of any element for restructuring, which also formed part of this year's settlement.
Mr. McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what the performance markings for civil servants in DETR (C) in each grade were in 1998, broken down by (a) gender, (b) ethnicity, (c) part/full time working and (d) disability; [64926]
Mr. Meale:
The performance and promotion data from the 1997-98 appraisal round analysed by my Department have been placed in the Library. In some areas it has not been possible to produce detailed breakdowns by grade without potentially revealing the identity of individual members of staff. In these cases data fields have been marked 'X' to maintain the confidentiality of individual staff records.
Mr. McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what equal opportunity training civil servants in DETR(C) received before the introduction of the present appraisal system. [64919]
Mr. Meale:
Awareness of equal opportunities issues and avoiding discrimination and bias forms an integral part of the Department's training courses. Both former Departments' appraisal systems were introduced with
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 186
training programmes covering equal opportunities issues, as did the refresher training for all staff in the new DETR(C) appraisal system.
Mr. McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions where were in each of the last five years the performance markings of civil servants in the predecessor bodies to DETR(C), broken down by (a) grade, (b) gender, (c) ethnicity, (d) part/full time working and (e) disability. [64925]
Mr. Meale:
This information, relating to appraisal systems which have now been superseded, cannot be provided in the format requested without incurring disproportionate costs.
I refer to your written Parliamentary Questions, Nos 64803 and 64825, which were tabled for answer by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions. I have been asked to reply to you with regard to information relating to the Highways Agency.
In reply to PQ 64803 we are in the process of completing the Agency's annual exercise which monitors the way in which appraisal and performance marks have been awarded. We expect to have this work completed by the end of January and I hope you will agree that it would be best that I should write to you again when the information is available.
In reply to PQ 64825 we use our own formula to determine whether there is any potential adverse impact on a particular group. This involves comparing the mean average performance mark for each group which we round up or down to the nearest whole number. If a particular group has a lower whole number than another group, this would merit further investigation.
(2) what were in each grade the promotability markings awarded in the 1998 appraisal round for civil servants in DETR (C), broken down by gender, race and disability. [64920]
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |