§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many staff in her Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies receive paid leave to undertake union duties; how many days they are allocated; and what has been the cost to public funds in each of the last four years; [36217]
(2) when she intends to answer the question of 13 February from the hon. Member for Buckingham regarding staff involvement in union duties. [41576]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is as follows:
1998 1999 2000 2001 Staff numbers 18 18 18 18 Number of days 495 495 495 495 Costs (£) 40,378 41,202 42,043 42,883 These figures represent the maximum leave allowance of 25 days (40 days for members of Trade Union National Executive Committees and Councils) which may be granted in each year for individuals engaged in trade union business in DFES and its predecessor DfEE.
There are no members of National Executive Committees or Councils in NDPBs for which DfES is responsible.
This compares to an average figure of 23 staff, with average costs of £45,788 per annum, in the four years prior to 1998.