The estimated total cost of sickness absence in the Department in each year from 2003 to 2007 is as follows:
Average cost1 (£) 2008 (to November 2008) 1,650,240 2007 1,947,436 2006 2,213,308 2005 2,698,448 2004 3,375,352 1 Cost calculated for all years using the full-time equivalent figure for the Department in each of the last five years and the figure of £764 average cost per person sick (all staff), used in the “Analysis of Sickness absence in the civil service 2007” report published on the public civil service website at: http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/statistics/sickness.asp along with data for other Departments and agencies.