Question follow-through · 23315

Sick Leave

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of how many people have been absent from work because of long term sickness over the last six months.

answeredDepartment for Work and Pensions

About this written question

A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.

Answering body: Department for Work and Pensions
Tabled: 13 Jan 2025
Target answer date: 15 Jan 2025
Answer: 21 Jan 2025 · 8 calendar days after tabling

Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.

Recorded timeline

13 Jan 2025
Question tabled
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of how many people have been absent from work because of long term sickness over the last six months.
15 Jan 2025
Target answer date
Date supplied by the official written-questions record.
21 Jan 2025
Answer published
The latest available data for long-term sickness absence covers the period from July 2023 to June 2024. In July 2023 to June 2024, 1.55 million people in the UK had been absent from work because of long-term sickness. This statistic can be found in the em...

Open official record

Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.

Later records

Possible follow-up questions

Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

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15 Jan 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to encourage people with physical illnesses to work from home.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Employment: Refugees

23 Jan 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support newly recognised refugees into employment in the agricultural sector.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Employment: Disability

29 Jan 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to make workplaces more accessible for disabled people.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Asbestos: Industrial Diseases

4 Feb 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the financial compensation available to those that have been exposed to asbestos in the workplace.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Universal Credit: Young People

5 Feb 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of the uptake of Universal Credit in under 21s in the last 12 months.

Strong linkSame MP, department and exact heading

Sick Leave

10 Feb 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to encourage people on long-term sickness back to work.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Pension Credit: Carers

11 Feb 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of unpaid carers over the State Pension age that have an entitlement to but are not claiming (a) a Carer Addition and (b) Pension Credit.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Carers' Benefits

11 Feb 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of unpaid carers that were entitled to the (a) Carer Premium and (b) Carer Addition in each year since 2000; and what proportion of those recipients were women

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Pension Credit: Carers

11 Feb 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of simplifying the application process for unpaid carers claiming Pension Credit.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Carer's Allowance: Overpayments

11 Feb 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many carers have Carer’s Allowance overpayment debt in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Carer's Allowance: Overpayments

11 Feb 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many carers have a Carer’s Allowance overpayment debt as a result of breaching the earnings limit in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Social Security Benefits: Employment

24 Feb 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support people claiming (a) Jobseekers Allowance, (b) Employment and Support Allowance and (c) Universal Credit to find employment.