Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department’s wellness strategy is.

Harriett Baldwin

HM Treasury takes the wellness of its staff seriously. Wellness is incorporated within the Treasury’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing policy.

In 2015/16 the following wellness initiatives were given priority:

• reducing levels of sickness absence relating to Mental and Behavioural Disorders (including stress, depression, anxiety) and Musculoskeletal Disorders;

• increasing the usage of the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP); and

  In addition the Treasury has signed up to two key external initiatives:

• the Public Health Responsibility Deal. Every April the Treasury reports to the Dept of Health on the activities carried out to meet the six pledges signed up to; and

• the ‘Time to Change’ pledge. Following this a Mental Wellbeing Network was set up and a range of associated activities take place focusing on improving the mental wellbeing of Treasury employees.

  In addition we support and provide reasonable adjustments for a variety of physical and mental conditions and requirements.