§ Mr. EtheringtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of days at work which were lost in 1995 due to food poisoning from(a) salmonella, (b) campylobacter, (c) listeria, (d) E. coli 0157 and (e) other causes; and if he will make a statement. [9139]
§ Mrs. Angela KnightThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the chief executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Bill Etherington, dated 17 December 1996:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on estimates of the number of days lost due to different types of food poisoning.This information is not available. The Labour Force Survey collects information on sickness absence, but does not ask respondents about the diagnosis of the cause of their sickness absence.