§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many days of sick leave were taken in her Department last year; how many related to employees suffering(a) stress and (b) other mental health problems; and what the cost was to her Department. [56477]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe most recently published annual report "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service" records the number of working days lost through sickness absence in the Lord Chancellor's Department as 10 working days per staff year for the calendar year 2000.
A recent analysis of sick absence by type indicates that around 23 per cent. of all sick absence in the Department is due to stress, depression or anxiety-related illnesses. We are unable accurately to cost this figure.
The Department is committed to managing sickness absence effectively. A great deal of work has been undertaken to raise awareness of our Service Delivery Agreement targets, of the need to manage attendance in accordance with best practice policies, and to reduce absence due to work related injuries and illness in line with the Government's Revitalising Health and Safety initiative.