Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.
The Department and its Agencies have provided the responses below for the period 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2019.
The Department has a number of sources of support for employees including a free-to-use Employee Assistance Programme, which offers up to six counselling sessions at a convenient location within days of referral, and a Wellbeing Buddy Network run by volunteers. It has also launched a Mental Health First Aid service run by trained volunteers for colleagues in immediate emotional distress.
The Department recognises the importance of the line manager in mental health, and has a resource available for line managers to provide guidance on managing colleagues with mental health difficulties/issues. It has also launched Wellbeing Action Plans, to guide line managers in conversations about wellbeing, including in relation to mental health.