Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the contracted hours are for the highest paid member of staff in his Department.

Senior Civil Servants (SCS) are contracted to work a minimum (over a 5 day week) of either 41 or 42 hours, including daily meal breaks for one hour. The new model contract was introduced on 1 July 2013, and standardised the working hours to 42 hours which was applicable to all new staff as well as those staff being promoted into or within SCS, from that date forward.

The contracted hours of the highest paid member of staff in the Department is 42 hours per week.