§ Mr. BaldryTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the number of working days lost in each of the last three years as a consequence of drug abuse-related absences. [60424]
858W
§ Ms HewittThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Tony Baldry, dated 19 November 1998:
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on working days lost as a consequence of drug-related absences.The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the ONS's major source of labour market data on individuals. The LFS collects information on whether people had any time off in the reference week because of sickness or injury. However, no information on the cause or type of sickness is collected. Unfortunately, no other official source can provide the information requested either.