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1127097

registered interest
date	16/05/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Police: Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has estimated the cost to the public purse of paying survivor pensions to all police widows and widowers regardless of remarriage or cohabitation; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	255252
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>We have estimated with the Government’s Actuary’s Department, by using historical actuarial data, that the total cost of retaining benefits for all police survivors would increase the police scheme liabilities by around £144m. It is also estimated that retaining benefits for all police survivors, including reinstatement of pensions already surrendered, would increase the police scheme liabilities to around £198m.</p> answering member constituency Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner answering member printed Mr Nick Hurd question first answered 22/05/2019 13:06:36 answering member 1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1126901

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Assistance Animals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether people travelling with assistance dogs to the EU will face disruption at EU borders at (a) train stations, (b) ports and (c) airports in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	254715
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government understands that assistance dog users, who have become familiar with the benefits of using the EU Pet Travel Scheme to travel to EU Member States, are concerned about the changes that could take place when the UK leaves the EU.</p><p> </p><p>In any exit scenario owners of assistance dogs from the UK will still be able to travel to the EU with their animals. After exit we want owners of assistance dogs to be able to take their animals to the EU with the minimum of disruption.</p><p> </p><p>If the UK leaves the EU without a deal and becomes an unlisted third country under the EU Pet Travel Scheme, assistance dogs would need to be microchipped and vaccinated against rabies, as now, but would also need to undergo a blood titre test to demonstrate that their rabies vaccination has been effective.</p><p> </p><p>On 25 March 2019 Defra issued updated guidance on pet travel to Europe after Brexit, which can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pet-travel-to-europe-after-brexit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pet-travel-to-europe-after-brexit</a>. This advises of the contingency planning owners should consider to make sure their animals can travel to the EU in the scenario that the UK is not granted listed third country status under EU Pet Travel Scheme rules. The guidance advises owners to contact their vet at least four months before travelling to get the latest advice.</p><p> </p><p>Defra has submitted an application for the UK to become a listed country under the EU pet travel regulations. Should the UK become a Part 1 listed country, there would be little change to the current arrangements, with only minor changes needed for documentation and, in most cases, no change for owners from what they currently need to do in terms of their animal’s health preparation. It is now for the EU Commission to consider our application for listed status.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to work with assistance dog organisations to share the latest advice and guidance (in accessible formats) with their members. We will also work with carriers to ensure that assistance dog owners have the correct health preparation and documentation to enable them to enter the EU. When further information becomes available it will be published on GOV.UK. Email alerts on pet travel can be subscribed to at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications</a>. We will also ensure that vets who issue pet travel documents have the most up to date information.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 21/05/2019 14:19:39 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1126556

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Department for Exiting the European Union
answering dept id	203
answering dept short name	Exiting the European Union
answering dept sort name	Exiting the European Union
hansard heading	Department for Exiting the European Union: Sick Leave
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	254065
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>Health and Wellbeing forms part of the Department for Exiting the European Union’s commitment to making the Department a great place to work. The Department has an attendance management policy, and Employee Assistance Programme and a dedicated mental health and wellbeing network who have been leading on a number of wellbeing activities across the Department to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of staff employed in the Department.</p><p>We are not in a position to release this data as individuals may be identifiable due to fewer than 10 individuals being absent in the last 12 months due to stress. The total cost to the Department of all recorded sickness absence in the last financial year was approximately £72k based on the estimated cost of working days lost.</p> answering member constituency Spelthorne answering member printed Kwasi Kwarteng question first answered 22/05/2019 10:06:04 answering member 4134 label Biography information for Kwasi Kwarteng
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1126557

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Department of Health and Social Care: Sick Leave
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	254066
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The number of employees in the Department from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 who were absent due to mental health reasons, including stress was 46, this represented 3% of the total workforce. The proportion of sickness absence related to mental health reasons, including stress, was 22% of the overall sickness absence for the Department for the same time period.</p><p> </p><p>The estimated cost to the Department from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 for employees taking sickness absence, is estimated at £936,927.</p> answering member constituency Gosport answering member printed Caroline Dinenage question first answered 22/05/2019 10:28:23 answering member 4008 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Dinenage
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1126560

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Department for International Development: Sick Leave
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	254069
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>106 DFID employees were absent due to stress, anxiety and/or depression during the period 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2019. This represented 3.6% of DFID’s workforce and 21% of the overall sickness absence for the department during this period. The estimated cost to DFID due to sickness absence during the period 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2019 was £217,350.</p><p> </p><p>DFID is committed to the health and wellbeing of all our staff, including helping them to manage stress in the workplace. DFID offers a range of guidance and services in place to support staff, including our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), which offers telephone and face to face counselling for all staff. This service also provides a wide range of online information and advice on work/life issues. DFID’s HR teams and Occupational Health Services provide support and advice for staff and managers to ensure a successful return to work after a period of mental ill health. DFID also has a Listening Network, an informal peer staff network, to complement the help already available.</p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 21/05/2019 14:55:41 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1126563

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Sick Leave
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	254072
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>A total of 26 employees in the department were absent due to stress-related reasons in the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 and this represented less than 1 per cent of the total workforce. The proportion of sickness absence owing to stress related reasons was 6 per cent of all sickness absence for the department for the same period.</p><p>The estimated cost to the department between 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 for employees taking sickness absence, is estimated at a total of £1.1 million.</p><p>The department is committed to the health and wellbeing of all our staff, including helping them to manage stress in the workplace. It has a range of guidance and services in place to support staff including a contracted Employee Assistance Programme (Help), an Occupational Health referral service to support staff throughout their absence and return to work, and a listening and support service through a Mental Health Ambassador Network.</p><p>The department offers a proactive model of Health and wellbeing support to staff, including those engaged in emotionally challenging work, ensuring that they are provided with interventions that are tailored to both specific groups and individuals.</p> answering member constituency Rossendale and Darwen answering member printed Jake Berry question first answered 21/05/2019 13:08:07 answering member 4060 label Biography information for Sir Jake Berry
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1126564

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Sick Leave
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	254073
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>During the period 01/04/2018 - 31/03/2019, a total of 16 employees (1.0% of the total employees employed in the department for the same period) took sickness absence for reasons relating to stress. This sickness absence accounted for 10.1% of total sickness absence taken in the Department, and cost the Department approximately £70,130.</p><p> </p><p>The department has implemented a number of policies to provide support for staff suffering from stress, including:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Early referral to occupational health experts</li><li>Extensive training for managers and employees - including on disability and mental health awareness, well-being, resilience and stress.</li><li>A Stress Assessment and Reduction Plan toolkit which can be used by line managers to identify and manage stress when required</li></ul><p> </p><p>DCMS has sought to promote an environment where individuals feel comfortable to talk openly about stress and mental health.The Department is a signatory to the ‘Time to Change Pledge’ and raises awareness of mental health and coping strategies through national campaigns such as the ‘Time to Talk’ day and the Mental Health Awareness Week. The department also organises ‘Mindfulness’ sessions for employees.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 22/05/2019 11:04:07 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1126565

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Sick Leave
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	254074
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>The number of employees in the department who were absent for stress-related reasons from 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2019 was 119, which represented 1.84% of the total workforce and 11.26% of the overall sickness absence.</p><p>The estimated cost of this sickness absence is £3,456,595 (based on a calculation of total working days lost multiplied by the daily rate of the department’s median salary).</p><p> </p><p>The department is committed to the health and wellbeing of all our employees, including helping them to manage stress in the workplace. There is a range of guidance and services in place to support the department’s employees such as Mental Health First Aiders, Employee Assistance Programmes and Fair Treatment Ambassadors.</p><p> </p><p>Sickness absence data for the Civil Service from 1999 to the first quarter of 2018 is published on GOV.UK and available at the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-sickness-absence" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-sickness-absence</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Guildford answering member printed Anne Milton question first answered 21/05/2019 16:06:04 answering member 1523 label Biography information for Anne Milton
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1126570

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Scotland Office
answering dept id	2
answering dept short name	Scotland
answering dept sort name	Scotland
hansard heading	Scotland Office: Sick Leave
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	254079
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland does not employ staff directly. All staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government departments, who remain the employers. These Departments have their own absence management policies and recording processes that apply to those of their staff working in the office. Detailed reasons for absence attributable to stress and other sickness absence is not retained by the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland.</p><p>The office takes sickness absence and the general wellbeing of staff very seriously and works alongside the employing departments to ensure that anyone who is experiencing issues receives support and assistance.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale answering member printed David Mundell question first answered 21/05/2019 11:52:21 answering member 1512 label Biography information for David Mundell
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1126571

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Department for Transport: Sick Leave
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	254080
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The Department and its Agencies have provided the responses below for the period 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2019.</p><ol><li>The number of staff that took sickness absence due to stress was 553. The Department and its agencies employed a total of 14,956 employees at the end of April 2019.</li><li>Of the total number of staff that took sickness absence, the proportion due to stress was 7.57%. The proportion of working days lost to stress, out of all days lost due to sickness absence, was 14.33%.</li><li>The total cost of working days lost to sickness absence for the period above is estimated at £13,710,056.78.</li></ol><p> </p><p>The Department has a number of sources of support for employees including a free-to-use Employee Assistance Programme, which offers up to six counselling sessions at a convenient location within days of referral, and a Wellbeing Buddy Network run by volunteers. It has also launched a Mental Health First Aid service run by trained volunteers for colleagues in immediate emotional distress.</p><p>The Department recognises the importance of the line manager in mental health, and has a resource available for line managers to provide guidance on managing colleagues with mental health difficulties/issues. It has also launched Wellbeing Action Plans, to guide line managers in conversations about wellbeing, including in relation to mental health.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 22/05/2019 09:33:59 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake