Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many days work is lost due to illness each year; and what steps he is taking to reduce absence from work.

The Office for National Statistics estimated that around 131 million working days were lost due to sickness absences in the UK in 2013, down from 178 million days in 1993.[1] To help tackle this, the Government has recently launched Fit for Work. Fit for Work provides work-related advice to GPs, employers and employees via a website and telephone line. It also provides an opportunity to refer employees who are expected to reach four weeks of sickness absence for an occupational health assessment. The advice element of Fit for Work is live across England and Wales and in Scotland.

Since January 2015 some GPs in the Sheffield and North Wales (Rhyll) area have had the opportunity to try the assessment element. This will be expanded across the country over a period of months from spring, building on this experience and learning. In Scotland, the assessment element went live, initially in three NHS Board areas, in January 2015. As with England and Wales, this will be expanded across Scotland from the spring.

Fit for Work is a fully transferred matter with respect to Northern Ireland. Decisions on whether to establish a similar service in Northern Ireland are for the Northern Ireland Executive.

In addition, the Government is publicising the Mental Health Support Service of Access to Work via Disability Confident, to help retain people with mental health conditions in work.

[1] ONS February 2014 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_353899.pdf