Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Mental Health: Civil Servants

Thursday 7 September 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Civil service sickness absence data are published annually.
  • The latest data indicate an average of 2.3 working days lost per staff year due to mental ill health for the year ending 31 March 2022.
  • Comparative data show a spike in sickness absence across both public and private sectors due to the pandemic.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Philip Hollobone Con
Mental Health
Context

The question concerns the amount of sick leave taken by civil servants due to mental health issues, which is a growing concern for public sector employment.

Question

How many days of sick leave due to mental health were taken by civil servants in 2022?

Answer from Jeremy Quin

Civil service sickness absence data are published annually. The latest data indicate that an average of 2.3 working days were lost per staff year due to mental ill health for the year ending 31 March 2022.

Answered
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Q2 Philip Hollobone Con
Employment Mental Health
Context

The question highlights a significant increase in working days lost due to stress and mental health reasons, raising concerns about genuine need versus abuse of leave.

Question

I understand that nearly three quarters of a million civil service working days were lost due to alleged stress and mental health reasons, and that this figure is 40% up on the year before. Given these circumstances, what steps are the Government taking to ensure only those with genuine mental health conditions receive leave?

Answer from Jeremy Quin

There has been a spike in all sickness absence this year, both in private and public sectors, due to comparative data from the pandemic period. The most recent figures show lower sickness absence rates for central Government Departments compared to the private sector. We work with occupational health and employee assistance programs to ensure those unwell get support while aiming to reduce overall numbers of people off for ill health.

Partly answered

Not addressed: specific verification steps for genuineness of mental health-related leave requests

How: Work With Occupational Health And Employee Assistance Programs

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