§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the rate of staff(a) absenteeism and (b) sickness was in her Department and each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each year from 1990–91 to 2002–03; what the target set is for her Department; and if she will make a statement. [93510]
§ Clare ShortWe are unable to provide details of rates of staff absenteeism as unauthorised absence is recorded as unpaid leave along with properly authorised absence (such as additional maternity leave or career breaks) and cannot be disaggregated.
971WMy Department will announce the rates of sick absence recorded in 2002 in due course. The rates of sick absence recorded in DFID per calendar year from 1997 to 2001 are as follows:
Year Number of absences Average number of days per staff year 1997 9,250 8.1 1998 8,643 7.3 1999 9,263 7.3 2000 8,426 6.2 2001 11,545 8.3 Staff numbers on which these are based have risen from 1,142 in 1997 to 1,391 in 2001.
Figures on rates of sick absence before 1997 are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
DFID is working towards reducing its sickness absence rate.