To ask the Minister of Finance (i) how many NICS staff are waiting for an Occupational Health Service assessment; and (ii) how long these staff have been waiting for an assessment.

As at 11 October there is a caseload of 195 NICS staff waiting for an Occupational Health Service assessment (which we have taken to mean assessments in relation to employees who are absent from work due to sickness absence). Waiting times vary depending on the type of referral and the nature of medical assessment required, but the average referral waiting time for sickness absence Occupational Health Service assessments is 18 weeks.