§ Mr. Ian McCartneyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, how many days were lost in sickness in the last 12 months by employees in his Department.(a) in total and (b) as a proportion of the number of days worked; and what was the cost of this absence. [34585]
§ Mr. Boswell[holding answer 14 July 1995]: Information in the form requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
However, selected aggregated data are provided by the Civil Service Occupational Health and Safety Agency on an annual basis. Provisional data for the 1994 calendar year show that in the core-Department—including the Pesticides Safety Directorate and Veterinary Medicines Directorate Agencies—59,572 working days, 3.28 per cent. of the total, were lost through sickness. The OHSA is not able to provide the cost of such absences except at disproportionate cost.
Responsibility for such matters within ADAS, Central Science Laboratory, Central Veterinary Laboratory and Meat Hygiene Service Agencies has been delegated to the agency chief executives and—with the exception of the 128W Meat Hygiene Service Agency, which was formed only on 1 April 1995—I have asked them to reply to the hon. Member direct.
Letter from Phillip Needham to Mr. Ian McCartney, dated 16 October 1995:
The Minister of Agriculture has asked me to reply direct to your Parliamentary Question number 1679 in which you sought details of how many days were lost in sickness in the last twelve months by employees in his Department (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of the number of days worked; and what was the cost of this absence. (34585)
ADAS was formed as an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Welsh Office in April 1992.
During the period 1/7/94 to 30/6/95 the total sick leave taken by all ADAS staff (permanent, casuals etc.) was 11,012 days. This equates to 1.9% of the number of days worked. We are not able to put an exact value on the cost of these absences, but estimate that it was approximately £650,000 (based on average salary costs).
You may wish to note that these figures have not been adjusted for weekends and bank holidays where sick leave extended beyond the normal working week.
Letter from P. I. Stanley to Mr. Ian McCartney, dated 16 October 1995:
NUMBER OF DAYS LOST IN SICKNESS AND THE RELATED COST
The Minister of Agriculture. Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply to your question about the number of days lost in sickness in the last twelve months and the cost of this absence, as this is a matter within my operational responsibility. (34585)
The most recent data I am able to provide relates to the 1994 calendar year. The figures are provisional and have been adjusted to take account of weekends and Bank Holidays. The number of days lost in sickness by Central Science Laboratory employees was 4077. As a proportion of the number of days worked this amounts to 2.48%.
I am unable to tell you the cost of this absence as a grade/salary breakdown is not readily available and such information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Letter from T. W. A. Little to Mr. Ian McCartney, dated 16 October 1995:
The Minister has asked me to reply to your question about sickness absence during the last twelve months at CVL. (34585)
For the calendar year 1994, 6,546 days were lost through sickness. This represented 4.34% of the days worked. I am afraid I am unable to provide you with the cost of absence since the records do not readily show this information. It could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The figures are still provisional for 1994 and are adjusted by bank holidays and weekends. The source was the Occupational Health Safety Agency sickness/absence database.