Feb. 29 2024
Source Page: Civil Service sickness absence, 2023Found: Contents Sickness Absence in the Civil Service List of Tables Table 1a Average Working Days Lost (AWDL
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 8810 on Cabinet Office: Sick Leave, if he will make an estimate of the total number staff days lost to long term sick absences in each Department in each year since 2015.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The tables below provide the estimates requested, long term sick days lost per department (Table 1), along with our preferred measure, Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) per staff year which accounts for workforce size and composition (Table 2). Data is provided for the main Ministerial Departments and excludes those that have been most impacted by Machinery of Government changes, for which times series comparisons between 2015 and 2022 are not possible.
Table 1: Long Term Sickness Absence by Main Department, Days Lost, 2015-2022
| Long Term Sick Days Lost | |||||||
Department | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
Cabinet Office | 5,580 | 6,510 | 6,400 | 5,050 | 10,550 | 13,250 | 13,090 | 20,750 |
Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities | 8,460 | 9,270 | 7,840 | 7,140 | 6,710 | 7,310 | 6,850 | 7,670 |
Department Culture Media and Sport | 530 | 1,810 | 1,490 | 3,470 | 3,710 | 3,630 | 2,670 | 4,110 |
Department for Environment | 18,960 | 16,690 | 14,890 | 14,240 | 15,490 | 19,880 | 19,210 | 27,070 |
Department for Education | 10,940 | 7,990 | 7,890 | 12,370 | 13,870 | 13,810 | 9,580 | 20,410 |
Department for Transport | 84,920 | 67,810 | 64,430 | 66,560 | 72,710 | 70,130 | 51,950 | 71,260 |
Department for Health and Social Care | 27,790 | 26,270 | 21,140 | 23,520 | 24,950 | 24,300 | 20,880 | 27,770 |
Department for Work and Pensions | 261,960 | 221,470 | 234,770 | 239,720 | 276,110 | 311,110 | 243,230 | 383,320 |
HM Customers and Revenue | 214,960 | 232,220 | 225,420 | 208,810 | 205,770 | 233,750 | 189,360 | 243,040 |
HM Treasury | 1,500 | 2,030 | 2,870 | 2,150 | 3,190 | 3,050 | 2,770 | 3,990 |
Home Office | 95,910 | 103,870 | 101,740 | 114,820 | 119,990 | 132,200 | 109,360 | 148,080 |
Ministry of Defence | 222,240 | 203,240 | 197,180 | 195,440 | 185,100 | 219,600 | 219,380 | 149,690 |
Ministry of Justice | 442,840 | 414,460 | 403,990 | 372,220 | 398,510 | 434,270 | 435,690 | 596,420 |
Scottish Government | 83,580 | 80,990 | 88,840 | 97,660 | 109,990 | 123,980 | 111,300 | 134,510 |
Welsh Government | 23,160 | 23,980 | 22,880 | 22,630 | 23,840 | 17,290 | 14,590 | 20,110 |
Table 2 : Long Term Sickness Absence by Main Department, Average Working Days Lost per Staff Year, 2015-2022
| Long Term Average Working Days Lost per Staff Year | |||||||
Department | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
Cabinet Office | 1.9 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.9 |
Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
Department Culture Media and Sport | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 1.4 |
Department for Environment | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.4 |
Department for Education | 3.2 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 2.6 |
Department for Transport | 5.3 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 3.6 | 4.9 |
Department for Health and Social Care | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 2.6 |
Department for Work and Pensions | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 4.5 |
HM Customers and Revenue | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.9 |
HM Treasury | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.5 |
Home Office | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 4.5 |
Ministry of Defence | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 2.8 |
Ministry of Justice | 6.8 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 7.4 |
Scottish Government | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 5.4 | 5.9 |
Welsh Government | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 3.7 |
Notes:
Annual Data for year ending 31 March 20xx
Source – Management Information
Days rounded to nearest 10 days, AWDL rounded to 1 decimal place
Ministerial Departments which have been most impacted by Machinery of Government changes over the period, and for which, consistent comparisons are not possible, are not shown.
For sickness absence publications see https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the total number staff days lost to long term sick absences in each Department in each year since 2021.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office publishes sickness absence data for the Civil Service on an annual basis on gov.uk. Our preferred measure is Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) per staff year which accounts for workforce size and composition. The table below provides the data requested, days lost per department, along with AWDL for context. Data for 2023 are in production for planned publication by end March 2024.
Table: Long Term Sickness Absence by Department 2021 and 2022
Organisation | 2021 | 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Days | AWDL | Days | AWDL | |
Attorney General's Departments | 5,250 | 2.2 | 7,190 | 2.9 |
Crown Prosecution Service | 18,530 | 3.1 | 23,570 | 3.7 |
Serious Fraud Office | 830 | 1.8 | 940 | 2.0 |
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | 34,010 | 2.1 | 47,160 | 2.5 |
Cabinet Office | 13,090 | 1.4 | 20,750 | 1.9 |
National Savings and Investments | 370 | 1.9 | 170 | 0.9 |
Charity Commission | 1,300 | 2.7 | s | s |
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities | 6,850 | 2.0 | 7,670 | 2.0 |
Competition and Markets Authority | 1,100 | 1.4 | 870 | 1.0 |
Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport | 2,670 | 1.3 | 4,110 | 1.4 |
Ministry of Defence | 219,380 | 4.1 | 149,690 | 2.8 |
Department for International Trade | 3,960 | 0.8 | 6,820 | 1.3 |
Department for Education | 9,580 | 1.3 | 20,410 | 2.6 |
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs | 19,210 | 1.9 | 27,070 | 2.4 |
ESTYN | 410 | 3.9 | 320 | 3.1 |
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | 16,750 | 1.9 | 18,830 | 2.3 |
Food Standards Agency | 3,850 | 2.9 | 4,500 | 3.4 |
The Health and Safety Executive | 7,440 | 3.2 | 10,520 | 4.2 |
Department of Health and Social Care | 20,880 | 2.2 | 27,770 | 2.6 |
HM Revenue and Customs | 189,360 | 3.2 | 243,040 | 3.9 |
HM Treasury | 2,770 | 1.1 | 3,990 | 1.5 |
Home Office | 109,360 | 3.4 | 148,080 | 4.5 |
Ministry of Justice | 435,690 | 6.0 | 596,420 | 7.4 |
National Crime Agency | 10,640 | 2.1 | 15,180 | 3.3 |
Northern Ireland Office | 140 | 0.9 | 420 | 2.4 |
Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services & Skills | 6,530 | 3.6 | 9,270 | 5.3 |
Office of Gas and Electricity Markets | 2,260 | 2.1 | 2,650 | 2.1 |
Office of Rail and Road | 590 | 1.9 | 290 | 0.9 |
Scotland Office (incl. Office Advocate General for Scotland) | 320 | 2.8 | 490 | 4.2 |
Scottish Government | 111,300 | 5.4 | 134,510 | 5.9 |
Department for Transport | 51,950 | 3.6 | 71,260 | 4.9 |
United Kingdom Statistics Authority | 9,250 | 2.4 | 10,070 | 2.2 |
UK Export Finance | 250 | 0.7 | 340 | 0.8 |
UK Supreme Court | * | * | 280 | 5.2 |
Wales Office | 230 | 4.4 | 190 | 4.1 |
Water Services Regulation Authority | 570 | 2.4 | 250 | 1.0 |
Welsh Government | 14,590 | 2.8 | 20,110 | 3.7 |
Department for Work and Pensions | 243,230 | 3.3 | 383,320 | 4.5 |
Notes:
Annual Data for year ending 31 March 2021 and 31 March 2022
Source – Management Information
Days rounded to nearest 10 days, AWDL rounded to 1 decimal place
s = suppressed due to data review, * = suppressed due to low counts
For sickness absence publications see https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence
Mentions:
1: Jonathan Gullis (Con - Stoke-on-Trent North) The Department for Transport also makes up to £259 million available every year for bus operators and - Speech Link
2: Richard Foord (LD - Tiverton and Honiton) That is affecting people’s working days. - Speech Link
3: Guy Opperman (Con - Hexham) We all accept that operators and local transport authorities have been working in a challenging environment - Speech Link
Correspondence May. 23 2024
Committee: Business and Trade Committee (Department: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)Found: As a company transforming for the future, we welcome a regulatory rising tide that will align working
Mentions:
1: Baroness Neville-Jones (Con - Life peer) They fall under the Department for Transport or local government, or elsewhere in government. - Speech Link
2: Baroness Neuberger (XB - Life peer) It goes precisely to the point about the number of days off taken for ill health because of the stress - Speech Link
3: Lord Benyon (Con - Life peer) the Department for Transport on aviation noise; influencing the UKHSA on the burden of disease work; - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Con - Life peer) that charity is cancelled for strike days. - Speech Link
2: Lord Berkeley (Lab - Life peer) The management, mainly from the Department for Transport, with a bit—I do not know whether it is support - Speech Link
3: Lord Moylan (Con - Life peer) If you take over the train operating companies, which are already puppets of the Department for Transport - Speech Link
4: Lord McLoughlin (Con - Life peer) , if you wholly nationalise, the people who will take back control will be not the Department for Transport - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Alex Burghart (Con - Brentwood and Ongar) On his specific point about flooding, he will have heard the Department for Environment, Food and Rural - Speech Link
2: Alex Burghart (Con - Brentwood and Ongar) Friend in his words of praise for those who have been working in the west midlands. - Speech Link
3: Alex Burghart (Con - Brentwood and Ongar) I know that my colleagues in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will have heard likewise - Speech Link
4: Layla Moran (LD - Oxford West and Abingdon) What is the Cabinet Office doing to connect DEFRA with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Greg Smith (Con - Buckingham) May we have a debate in Government time to iron out these issues and ensure that the Department for Transport - Speech Link
2: Penny Mordaunt (Con - Portsmouth North) Gentleman’s point with the Transport Secretary, as Transport questions will not take place again until - Speech Link
3: Christine Jardine (LD - Edinburgh West) I know that the Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade, the hon. - Speech Link
4: Penny Mordaunt (Con - Portsmouth North) I will certainly ensure that the Secretary of State for Transport has heard his request. - Speech Link
5: Matt Rodda (Lab - Reading East) two days and we are still to see any compensation for them. - Speech Link
Found: According to HSE , musculoskeletal disorders accounted for 6.6 million days lost due to wor k-related