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 current levels of absence from work of NHS staff; and if he will make a statement.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s data shows that to 3 November 2021 the average number of staff in National Health Service trusts absent due to sickness or self-isolation in the preceding week was 72,355 per day, of which 14,316 staff were absent for COVID-19 related reasons. This compares to a peak of over 155,000 absences per day in April 2020 and almost 100,000 absences per day in January 2021.