To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the rates of staff (a) absence and (b) sickness absence in his Department in each of the past five years were; and what the departmental targets were in each case.

Staff who joined DECC before 31 March 2013 are entitled to 31½ days annual leave per year; staff who joined after that date are entitled to a maximum of 30 days annual leave per year. There are no targets on how much leave will be taken. DECC does not hold centrally information on annual leave taken and to answer this question would incur disproportionate costs.

The following table shows the number of days sickness absence recorded for DECC.

DECC has a target to ensure the annual working days lost figure remains below the civil service average, which it has met.