§ Mr. ClaphamTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many days of sick leave were taken by employees in her Department in the last year for which records are available; what proportion of those were due to work-related illness or injury; and what the cost was to the Department. [56099]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 20 May 2002]: The average number of staff days lost per staff year through sickness absence in the DTI Group in 2000 (the most recent figure available) was 7.5. The figure is taken from the annual report on public sector sick absence commissioned by the Cabinet Office each year. The DTI Group, in addition to DTI HQ, consists of: ACAS, Companies House, Patent Office, Insolvency Service, National Weights and Measures Laboratory, Employment Tribunals Service, and The Radiocommunications Agency.
The additional information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The DTI is committed to reducing the number of working days lost due to sickness absence including time lost due to work-related injuries and illness.
§ Mr. ClaphamTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims for work-related illness were settled by her Department in the last year for which records are available; and what the cost was in compensation. [56097]
§ Mr. ClaphamTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many employees of her Department retired through work-related ill-health in the last year for which records are available; and what the cost was to the Department. [56098]
§ Mr. Wilson[holding answer 20 May 2002]: Records are not maintained by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) which enable ill-health retirements to be separately identified as work-related. For DTI the number of staff retired with a medical retirement certificate issued by the civil service pension scheme medical adviser for the period 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 was 17. Benefits provided on medical retirement are as set out in the rules 981W of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme and laid before Parliament, and provide for an immediate payment of an enhanced pension and lump sum. Ill-health retirement expenditure is met centrally from the Civil Superannuation Vote. For the year ending March 2002, provisional expenditure met from the Vote was £310 million in respect of all civil service cases for which an ill-health pension has been awarded. These cases number approximately 67,000 and include those who have formerly been ill-health retired but who have now reached and exceeded the normal retirement age.