Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he made of savings accruing to the Exchequer from changes to the percentage threshold scheme for statutory sick pay scheme introduced on 6 April 2014.

The savings from the abolition of the Percentage Threshold Scheme (PTS) of £52M 2014/15 were reinvested to set up Fit for Work and provide a tax exemption of up to £500 per year per employee for medical treatments recommended by Fit for Work or an employer arranged occupational health service. This was based on an independent review[1] into sickness absence which found that PTS provided little incentive to tackle the causes of sickness absence and recommended the new approach.

[1] Dame Carol Black and David Frost conducted an independent review in November 2011 of sickness absence in the UK

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181060/health-at-work.pdf