§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 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. [56485]
§ Mr. Ivan Lewis[holding answer 14 May 2002]: An average of 7.7 days sick leave were taken by employees in the former Department for Education and Employment in 2000, the latest year for which this information is available. Information is not held for the other questions and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, no compensation has been paid to employees specifically for work related stress.
My Department is committed to meeting targets for reducing the number of working days lost due to sickness absence generally and due to work related injuries and illness arising from the Government's revitalising health and safety initiative.