Written question asked by Nigel Waterson (Conservative) on Tuesday, 21 November 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 23 November 2006. It was answered by Gerry Sutcliffe (Labour) on Monday, 18 December 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

Prisons

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison service employees are on long-term sick leave.

Answer: On 31 October 2006 there were 1,093 staff who were on long-term absence, of which 44 were contracted prison staff. (Information was not available for Ashfield and Dovegate prison). Absences of 20 working days or more are defined as long-term.Tackling high levels of sickness absence remains one of the service’s top priorities. In the public sector, prison service absence rates have fallen significantly in recent years, from 14.71 days per member of staff in 2002-03, to 11.37 days so far in 2006—a fall of over 20 per cent.

Secondary information