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Civil Servants (Retirement Age)
Mr. Brady: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the compulsory retirement ages which apply to employees of his Department and of executive agencies and other public sector bodies for which it is responsible, broken down by grade or job title. [7226]
Mr. Leslie: Information on the normal retirement age and on compulsory early retirement or severance for my Department and for the executive agencies and public sector bodies for which it is responsible is as follows:
The normal age of retirement for staff in all grades below the Senior Civil Service is 60 years. This is also the minimum age at which there can be retirement with full superannuation benefits. Retention beyond age 60 is possible subject to departmental needs and the continued health and efficiency of the individual member of staff.
Staff in the most junior grades who satisfy these criteria may continue in service until they reach the age of 65 years. Others who have not completed 20 years' reckonable service at age 60 may continue in post until they reach the age of 65 or complete 20 years' service, whichever occurs first.
Service beyond these limits to a maximum of 70 years is possible at management discretion. The Cabinet Office does not retain permanent employees beyond age 70 although it may be willing to consider a case in exceptional circumstances to meet an essential departmental need.
The Senior Civil Service has a common compulsory retirement age of 60 years in all departments. Retention beyond this age may be allowed if in the public interest and subject to departmental needs and the continued health and efficiency of an individual.
Government Office regional staff continue as members of their parent Departments and as such remain subject to their retirement policies in respect of age, compulsory early retirement or severance.
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Retirement policies in the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Government Car and Despatch Agency and the Central Office of Information closely follow the Cabinet Office model, with analogous discretions allowing for extensions of service.
As a pre-redundancy measure volunteers may be offered retirement on compulsory terms to avoid compulsory redundancy procedures. Staff may also be retired on compulsory early retirement or severance terms on grounds of structure, and on compulsory early retirement terms on grounds of limited efficiency. Early retirement applies to staff aged 50 or over; early severance applies to staff aged under 50.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Magistrates (Essex)
Bob Russell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many people applied to be magistrates in the north Essex area in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [6331]
Mr. Wills: Figures are not available for the north Essex area on its own. However, for Essex as a whole the figures are: 1998–99—160 applicants; 1999–2000—225 applicants; 2000–01—154 applicants.
Departmental Properties
Pete Wishart: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will estimate the total running costs for buildings used, owned or rented by his Department for each nation and region of the UK, and estimate the average cost per square metre for properties used by his Department as a whole, and by region and nation of the UK. [6795]
15 Oct 2001 : Column: 1013W
Mr. Wills: Buildings used, owned or rented by the Department fall into two categories: those managed by the Court Service and those managed centrally by the Department. The Court Service manages the estate of all of the Crown Courts, county courts, the Supreme Court estate and probate estate, the Tribunal buildings and also regional administration buildings. Magistrates' courthouses are owned or leased by the local paying authority on behalf of Magistrates Courts Committees.
The running costs and average costs per square metre of Court Service buildings by nation are contained in Table 1 and the running costs and average costs per square metre by region are contained in Table 2.
Properties managed centrally by the Department include central administration buildings and associated offices. The running costs and average costs per square metre of these buildings by nation are contained in Table 3 and the running costs and average costs per square metre by region are contained in Table 4.
The estimate of the average cost per square metre for properties used by the Lord Chancellor's Department is contained in Table 5.
| £ | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nation | Cash Expenditure | Cost per sq. metre |
| England | 198,795,765.55 | 267.59 |
| Wales | 7,817,644.14 | 171.77 |
| Scotland | 108,103.36 | 222.49 |
| Northern Ireland | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| £ | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cash Expenditure | Cost per sq. metre | |
| English region | ||
| East Midlands | 8,734,161.88 | 257.14 |
| Eastern | 13,749,700.07 | 249.58 |
| Greater London | 76,764,257.36 | 331.10 |
| North East | 6,817,304.27 | 195.10 |
| North West | 24,874,647.12 | 224.66 |
| South East | 22,638,385.67 | 249.06 |
| South West | 14,255,109.91 | 256.66 |
| West Midlands | 15,516,402.06 | 251.32 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 15,445,887.21 | 226.55 |
| Devolved nations | ||
| Wales | 7,817,644.14 | 171.77 |
| Scotland | 108,103.36 | 222.49 |
| Northern Ireland | 0.00 | 0.00 |
15 Oct 2001 : Column: 1014W
| £ | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nation | Cash Expenditure | Cost per sq. metre |
| England | 16,834,052.00 | 372.81 |
| Wales | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Scotland | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Northern Ireland | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| £ | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cash Expenditure | Cost per sq. metre | |
| English region | ||
| East Midlands | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Eastern | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Greater London | 16,550,947.51 | 380.70 |
| North East | 64,060.00 | 163.59 |
| North West | 114,958.78 | 291.11 |
| South East | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| South West | 104,085.28 | 131.66 |
| West Midlands | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| £ per sq. metre | |
|---|---|
| Whole estate | 240.00 |
Mrs. May: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list the number, value and location of properties newly leased in each of the last five years by her Department, broken down by those leased by the Department itself, its next steps agencies and its non-departmental public bodies, differentiating between purchases made as a result of the creation of new bodies and those purchases made by established bodies. [7819]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Lord Chancellor's Department has leased 34 additional locations over the past five years for various parts of the organisation and for varying lease terms. Five of the locations are occupied by the Department or its associated offices (the Legal Services Ombudsman's Office); 24 for its executive agencies (The Court Service and the Public Guardianship Office) and five for its NDPBs (CAFCASS and the Public Defender Service Offices). The creation of CAFCASS and the Public Defender Service offices prompted the acquisition of new properties; expansion of the organisation and/or rationalisation of the departmental estate drove the remaining acquisitions. Full details of the acquisitions are set out in the schedule.
(64) Office of Legal Services Ombudsman
(65) Immigration Appellate Authority—IAA
(66) Principle Registry of the Family Division
(67) Minor occupier in other Government building
(68) This lease was new to the Department but not new to Government
(69) For six months as a sublease from MAFF
(70) Rent free for six months
(71) Rent free for nine months
(72) Rent free for two years
15 Oct 2001 : Column: 1015W
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