§ Mr. GoodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people employed in her Department have claimed statutory sick pay for(a) less than one week, (b) one to three weeks, (c) four to six weeks, (d) seven to 12 weeks, (e) 13 to 20 weeks and (f) 21 to 28 weeks in each year since 1997. [148632]
§ Alun MichaelDefra only came into being in June 2001. Figures for the number of staff in the Department and its Agencies who received payment of Statutory Sick Pay in each of the following categories for calendar years 2002 and 2003 are as follows:
2002 2003 Less than one week 1,963 1,859 1–3weeks 1,301 1,178 4–6weeks 327 287 7–12weeks 310 260 13–20weeks 343 215 31–28weeks 5 4 Figures for the part year June 2001–December 2001 are not available. The Department is committed to managing sickness absence effectively and meeting its targets for reduced sickness absence as set out in departmental plans.
This response covers the core-Department and its Agencies, which comprise the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Pesticides Safety Directorate, Central Science Laboratory, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Rural Payments Agency and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.