Question

To ask the hon. Member for Warrington North, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what the (a) sickness absence rate, (b) total number of days lost to sickness absence and (c) number of days lost to sickness absence per head was for Member's staff in each of the last three years.

This data is correct as of 12 March 2026, and it should be noted that this only includes sickness absence that has been reported to IPSA and excludes any pregnancy-related sickness.

The sickness absence rate, based on an assumption of 228 working days per employee per year, for each of the past three calendar years, is as follows – 13.79% (2023), 11.86% (2024), and 8.28% (2025). Year-to-date in 2026, the figure is 5.7%.

The total number of actual working days lost to sickness absence since 1 January 2023 is 32,152.

The average number of actual working days lost to sickness per head of MPs’ staff in each of the past three calendar years is as follows – 8.18 (2023), 8.56 (2024), and 5.68 (2025). Year-to-date in 2026, the figure is 5.60 days.