Written question asked by Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party) on Wednesday, 16 January 2013, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 21 January 2013. It was answered by Jeremy Wright (Conservative) on Monday, 21 January 2013 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Prison Service

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) target and (b) actual current absence rates are for Prison Service officers in England; and what the equivalent rates are in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales and (iii) Northern Ireland.

[138569]

Answer

There is no target for the level of sickness absence specifically for the grade of prison officer in England and Wales. Targets are set for sickness absence covering all staff at each establishment but a corporate target for sickness absence is not set.

For the 12 months up to 30 September 2012 (the date of the latest published data) the average number of working days lost to sickness absence by prison officers in public sector Prison Service establishments in England was 11.5. The equivalent figure for the public sector in Wales was 8.0. Information relating to private sector establishments is not collected on the same basis as that required by the Cabinet Office of the public sector. For this reason figures for the private sector are not presented here.

The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the sickness absence rates of prison officers in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Prison Services for Scotland and Northern Ireland are both devolved and are the responsibility of the devolved Ministers.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 138569; 557 c54W
Session: 2012-13
Subjects: Absenteeism Prison officers
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk

Prison Service

Secondary information

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