§ John McDonnellTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the average number of sick days taken by each grade in 2003 in(a) the Department and (b) its agencies. [158298]
§ Mr. McNultyIn 2003 the total number of days sick absence recorded for the Department for Transport and its Agencies was 164,364 days. This is monitored on an overall average days per staff year basis, and the 2003 figures were:
Days Department for Transport (Central) (DfT(C)) 5.7 Driving Standards Agency (DSA) 12.7 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) 12.7 Highways Agency (HA) 8.3 Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) 8.4 Vehicle Certification Agency (VGA) 5.9 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) 9.0 Total Department for Transport 10.4 The average number of sick days taken by each grade in DfT(C) was recorded as:
Days Pay Band 1/Secretarial 5.5 Pay Band 2 6.9 Pay Band 3 6.6 Pay Band 4 4.9 Pay Band 5 3.9 Pay Band 6 2.0 Pay Band 7 2.1 Senior Civil Service 0.6 Average DfT(C) 5.7 The Agencies are responsible for their own staffing arrangements and have their own grading structures. Similar breakdowns of average days by grade levels for the Agencies are not readily available.
The Department and its Agencies are committed to managing sickness absence effectively. This includes actively reviewing statistics and trends and gaining a clearer understanding of the reasons for non-attendance.