To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff in her Department were on long-term sick leave in each of the last five years. [109246]

Assuming long-term sick leave is defined as 90 days and over, the numbers of DCMS staff on long-term sick leave in each of the last five calendar years was:

	Number
1998	6
1999	3
2000	5
2001	5
2002	7

DCMS is committed to managing sickness absence effectively, and in meeting the 2003 target for reduced sickness absence, as set out in the Service Delivery Agreement.