Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the total number of school days lost by pupils due to the incidence of infectious disease in (a) primary (b) secondary schools in England in the school years 2024/25 and 2025/26 and what proportion of all pupil school days this represents.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department does not collect data on absence due specifically to infectious disease.

The closest available measure is absence due to illness. In 2024/25, illness accounted for 2.83% of all possible sessions in state-funded primary schools and 3.61% in state-funded secondary schools. These figures are based on school census data, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/71a4148c-f739-4adc-9a80-08dee27f7d76.

For 2025/26 to date, illness absence has accounted for 2.81% of possible sessions in primary schools and 3.63% in secondary schools. Data for 2025/26 is based on daily attendance data and may be subject to change as registers update. Details are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/cfdaf89b-050d-4c76-179f-08dee28a6f1d.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Health and Safety Executive has made of the need for formal guidance for employers and workplace operators on workplace cleanliness and hygiene standards to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

Employers have duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to assess and control risks to workers and others arising from their activities. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) already provides guidance on infections and biological hazards at work, including risk assessment, infection control measures, and preventing exposure to biological agents.

HSE's guidance makes it clear that employers should identify biological hazards, assess who may be harmed and implement proportionate control measures. These may include the use of disinfectants, appropriate hygiene arrangements and surfaces that can be easily cleaned where necessary to reduce the likelihood and spread of infection. Where no specific biological hazards are identified, employers should nevertheless ensure suitable workplace hygiene arrangements are in place.

For settings with specific infection prevention requirements, such as health and adult social care, additional sector-specific guidance is available from the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England.

HSE keeps its guidance under review and has not identified a need for additional formal guidance specifically on workplace cleanliness and hygiene standards to prevent the spread of infectious diseases or antimicrobial resistance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the World Health Organization and UNICEF's 2025 Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Community Settings; and whether he plans to take steps to promote their implementation in public places and workplaces.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recognise that effective infection prevention and control measures play an important role in reducing the transmission of infectious diseases in workplaces, public spaces, and other community settings. Current evidence continues to support targeted, risk-based hygiene measures as an effective means of reducing the spread of infectious diseases.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF's guidelines highlight the role of hand hygiene in community environments, including public and institutional settings, and in reducing diarrhoeal disease and acute respiratory infections. These objectives are consistent with existing Government policies to prevent and control infections and support public health.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department and the UK Health Security Agency have made of the potential merits of promoting targeted hygiene in workplaces and public spaces as a means of reducing the spread of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recognise that effective infection prevention and control measures play an important role in reducing the transmission of infectious diseases in workplaces, public spaces, and other community settings. Current evidence continues to support targeted, risk-based hygiene measures as an effective means of reducing the spread of infectious diseases.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF's guidelines highlight the role of hand hygiene in community environments, including public and institutional settings, and in reducing diarrhoeal disease and acute respiratory infections. These objectives are consistent with existing Government policies to prevent and control infections and support public health.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the total number of school days lost by teaching staff due to the incidence of infectious disease in (a) primary (b) secondary schools in England in the school years 2024/25 and 2025/26 and the proportion of all teacher school days this represents.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The information requested is not held centrally.

The department collects absence data for teachers and teaching assistants employed directly by state-funded schools via the school workforce census. This includes absences due to sickness but does not include the reason for the sickness absence. Each census collects data for absences from the previous academic year. The latest data available covers the 2024/25 academic year and is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

Found: Resolved, Linsey Farnsworth to be discharged from the Justice Committee and Janet Daby to be nominated