§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in her 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 2002. [106733]
§ Alun MichaelIn the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and its agencies, 353 staff have received paid leave to undertake union duties during the financial year 2002–03. The cost to public funds for this period is not yet available.
Up to 25 days was available to each union representative to undertake trade union activities although the average claimed was less.
For information, 378 staff received paid leave to undertake union duties during the financial year 2001–02. The cost to public funds was £540,507.
In the time available and given the number of NDPBs for which Defra is responsible, it is not possible to confirm the position for all NDPBs at reasonable cost.