To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many senior civil servants left her Department and public bodies under voluntary exit and received a severance payment in each of the last three years; and what the value of such payments was.

The following table provides the number of senior civil servants and senior officials that left the Home Office and its public bodies under voluntary exit and received a severance payment, and the value of such payments in each of the last three years.

Departure costs are paid in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, a statutory scheme made under the Superannuation Act 1972.

The Civil Service Compensation Scheme was reformed in December 2010. Under the previous terms, there could be costs extending for up to 10 years from a departure while under the reformed scheme all of the costs fall within the year of departure. The reformed scheme allows for greater distinction between voluntary and compulsory exits and is designed to encourage voluntary rather than compulsory departures.