Annex 188
Letter to the Parliamentary Commissioner
for Standards from Mr Jonathan Upton
Thank you for letter of 17 April. I am sorry that
you have had difficulty in arranging to discuss this matter with
me.
I enclose information and documents relating to the
points you raise in your letter as follows (using your numbering):
1) Letters of appointment for Kevin Reid and
Chris Winslow dated 19 June 1998 (Appendix A). Please note that
there is an error contained in the letter to Chris Winslow—he
was in fact employed as a Research Assistant.
Suzanne Hiliard was a volunteer worker during the
Scottish general election and we do not have a contract of employment
for her.
Given the passage of time I cannot be precise about
when I became aware that Kevin Reid and Chris Winslow had other
employment to that of the Labour Party.
2) Letter to Kevin Reid and Chris Winslow dated
19 October 1998 and 3 November 1998 respectively varying their
initial contracts (Appendix B). In the case of Kevin Reid, offering
him a full time job with effect from 12 October 1998. In the case
of Chris Winslow, an increase in his hours of work with effect
from 1 November 1998. The changes in hours reflect changes in
the volume of work as we approached the Scottish general election.
This is not an unusual occurrence within the party.
3) I enclose details of the Scottish general
election budgetary arrangements (Appendix C).
4) I assume that your reference to a bonus related
to the Scottish general election allowance. A small sum of money,
£8,000, was set aside to reward staff after the election
campaign for effort "above and beyond the call of duty"—the
number of hours worked in excess of contractual hours was the
benchmark for this. The pool of £8,000 remained constant
but the distribution to individuals was varied dependent on the
allocation by the local management to one of the three broad bands:
Band I —
5-15 hours extra per week
Band II — 15-25 hours extra per week
Band III — 25 hours extra per week
Chris Winslow and Kevin Reid were placed in Band
III and received payments of £406.78 each. This sum was paid
through the payroll.
I also enclose a confirmation of payment of £406.78
made to Suzanne Hilliard (Appendix D). Although she was not a
member of staff it was felt appropriate to recognise her enormous
effort during the campaign. This was paid by cheque.
I have endeavoured to answer your questions fully
and provide the information you requested. I am sure you will
understand that I could not have day to day knowledge of the management
of staff in any regional and national office outside of London.
I think the contents of this letter should obviate the necessity
for us to meet this Thursday.
19 April 2000
| 
