HC Deb 25 February 2002 vol 380 cc794-5W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many staff in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies receive paid leave to undertake union duties; how many days they are allocated; and what has been the cost to public funds in each of the last four years. [36202]

Dr. Whitehead

The number of staff who received paid leave to undertake union duties (excluding health and safety activity) in my Department and its agencies1 in each of the last four years are set out as follows, the majority of whom are part-time representatives:

Number
1998 277
1999 267
2000 263
2001 270

The total number of days allocated to the staff above in each of the last four years are as follows:

Number
1998 7,138
1999 7,064
2000 7,043
2001 7,090

The costs of time spent on industrial relations and/or trade union activities, based on average salary costs, in each of the last four years are as follows:

£
1998 625,000
1999 655,893
2000 605,380
2001 684,166
1 The figures given do not include the Fire Services College who only became an executive agency within DTLR as a result of the Machinery of Government Changes in June 2001.