Civil Service (Sickness Absence)

HC Deb 24 June 1997 vol 296 c421W

Mr. Hepburn

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the overall level of sickness absence in the Civil Service. [5469]

Dr. David Clark

The average number of working days sickness absence per staff-year in 1995 was 10.7.

I have placed in the house Libraries copies of the report prepared for my department by OHSA Limited on Sickness Absence in the Civil Service during 1995, which contains a comprehensive analysis of the figures about the Civil Service. That report also contains corrections to some of the figures about sickness absence in the Civil Service for previous years.

My Department regularly encourages Departments and agencies to review their approaches to sickness absence management.