Absence

HC Deb 11 December 2001 vol 376 cc804-5W

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many days were lost due to sickness absence in the Department in each of the last four years [21331]

Mr. Leslie

The average sickness absence in working days per member of staff in the Cabinet and its agencies for the years 1996–99 is as follows. This is the most recent period for which a four-yearly analysis of statistics is available.

Year	Working days absence Year per staff-year
1999	6.8
1998	7.3
1997	6.6
1996	6.4

The Cabinet Office is committed, through a series of policies and practices on monitoring absence and managing attendance, to reduce the impact of sickness absence on its business consistent with its Service Delivery Agreement targets.