Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers in Cumbria Constabulary are absent from work as a result of sickness or injuries caused by violence inflicted on them in the course of their duties.

Mike Penning

The Home Office collects data on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) officers on certified long-term sick leave as at 31 March each year. This can be broken down by those on long-term sick leave as a result of assault, and those on long-term sick leave for other reasons. Long-term sick includes officers on leave for 28 days or more.

The latest published data shows that there were 16 officers (FTE) on long-term sick leave in the Cumbria Constabulary, as at 31 March 2015. None of these were following assaults.

Data on the number of officers on short/medium-term absence due to sickness are published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, and show that 16 officers were on short/medium-term sick leave as at 31 March 2015. These data do not identify the reasons for the absence.