Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants are entitled to leave for (a) trade union and (b) activities; what assessment he has made of the total value of facilities provided to trade unions; and what estimate he has made of the total cost to the public purse of facility time.

There are 4,427 Trade Union representatives across the civil service. Trade union representatives have a statutory right to reasonable unpaid time off to carry out trade union activities. Facility time in the Civil Service as of the most recently reported annual data cost approximately £10 million.