To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many staff in his Department were recorded as having been on sick leave for over 12 months on 31 December in each of the last five years. (256636)

The total number of staff recorded as having been on sick leave for over 12 months on 31 December over the past five years is 12.

It is not possible to give a breakdown for each individual year in order to avoid possibly revealing the identity of the individual staff members.