§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the average cost of working days lost owing to labour disputes in the(a) public and (b) private sector in each year between 1995 and 2003; and if he will make a statement. [151832]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
636WLetter from Len Cook to Mr. Stephen O'Brien, dated 2 February 2004:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the estimate of the average yearly cost of working days lost owing to labour disputes in the private and public sector each year since 1995. (151832)
The Office for National Statistics produces figures on the number of working days lost as a result of labour disputes, but does not estimate the cost of these lost days.
Whilst there are no statistics on numbers of working days lost that specifically relate to the public sector, figures are available for the public administration, education and health industries sectors which encompass most of the public sector. In the table below, the data for these sectors (Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) sectors 75, 80 and 85) are presented alongside data for the rest of the economy for 1995 to 2002, the last year for which annual data are available.
Working days lost due to UK labour disputes, 1995–2002 thousands Public administration, education and health industries (SIC 75, 80, 85) Rest of Economy Year No of days lost Percentage of all days lost No of days lost Percentage of all days lost 1995 178 43 237 57 1996 295 23 1,008 77 1997 65 28 170 72 1998 50 18 232 82 1999 66 27 176 73 2000 221 44 278 56 2001 331 63 194 37 2002 1,013 77 310 23