Member's statement: Northern Ireland Civil Service: Sickness Leave
Member's statement by Ms Diane Forsythe on .
- MLA
- Ms Diane Forsythe
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 23 September 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Northern Ireland Civil Service: Sickness Leave
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4543645
Read the official Assembly record
Text
In the past year, sickness leave in the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) has cost £44 million in direct salary costs. That is an increase of £5 million on the previous year, 2023, when it cost £39 million. Previously, in 2022, it cost £38·6 million. That is a cost of over £121 million in the past three years. It is a huge, recurring and increasing cost to our Northern Ireland Budget. We have a serious issue that needs to be given serious attention and scrutiny. That reported cost does not include wider arm's-length bodies and other bodies in the public sector, and it does not include the cost of agency staff, consultants or staff on temporary promotions to cover the absences, so the real full cost is much more. There is a problem here. As elected representatives, we owe it to the taxpayers to investigate what is going on, and we owe it to the civil servants to investigate the root cause of the issues. Many civil servants have highlighted specific pressures in the Civil Service to me and expressed frustration at their not being investigated. I genuinely believe that there are multiple factors at play, but the issue needs to be addressed immediately. The Finance Minister is responsible for HR in the Civil Service. When I asked what she had done to address this year's reported increase in sick pay, she referred to the overarching NICS health and well-being framework and stated that reducing sickness absence is a priority for the Civil Service. Whilst welcome, that is not enough. Immediate action is needed. We face a crisis in our Civil Service. High levels of sickness absence, alongside over 3,200 vacant posts reported, is putting the delivery of our public services under immense pressure. At a time of extreme Budget pressures, we cannot afford to sit back as a recurring, increasing cost — now reaching £44 million per year — hits our public purse. We hear public sector transformation and Civil Service reform discussed regularly as a big strategic objective, but let us get serious and take action in delivering some of that transformation. We need a reform of how our Civil Service operates at every level. Our civil servants should not be left short-staffed or reporting high levels of sickness. That is an indicator of serious problems, and it needs to be addressed now. The cost is too high. We need to see action.
405 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.95).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.95 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.70 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.30 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:03 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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