Written question asked by Simon Hughes (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 11 April 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 29 April 2003. It was answered by Bill Rammell (Labour) on Tuesday, 29 April 2003 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the rate of (a) unpaid leave and (b) absence due to sickness was for UK Visas staff working (i) abroad and (ii) in the UK in each of the last five years. - Inc table.

Answer: Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the rate of (a) unpaid leave and (b) absence due to sickness was for UK Visas staff working (i) abroad and (ii) in the UK in each of the last five years. [109505] Mr. Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not centrally maintain records for unpaid leave. Statistics for leaves of absence through sickness for overseas staff do not specify the section of the Post in which the officer works. Collating both sets of figures would incur disproportionate cost. Sickness figures for UK visas staff based in the UK on a calendar year basis in line with normal government practice, are: _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Days per officer 2002 5.88 2001 9.28 2000 9.52 1999 8.39 1998 No reliable figures held _________________________________________________________________________________________________. The FCO is committed to reducing sickness absence and we are on target to achieve our Service Delivery Agreement targets.

Secondary information