Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the proportion of ill-health related job losses that have been attributed to (a) mental ill and (b) physical ill health in each of the last three years.

Recently published analysis of new data in the 2018 Annual Population Survey (APS) shows that 104,000 people leave work following a long-term sickness absence every year. Of the 99,000 people that left work and reported the health condition that was the main cause of their long-term sickness absence, 37,000 of them reported that the main condition causing their long-term sickness absence was mental health, 25,000 reported that it was because of a musculoskeletal condition and 37,000 reported other health conditions including some physical health conditions.

DWP/DHSC, 2019, Health in the workplace – patterns of sickness absence, employer support and employment retention, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/health-in-the-workplace-patterns-of-sickness-absence-employer-support-and-employment-retention