To ask the Minister for Social Development to detail (i) the number of Civil Servants from his Department who have left work early since 3 December 2012 due to the civil unrest associated with the flag protests; and (ii) the associated financial cost to his departmental budget.

In the Department for Social Development the flexible working time arrangements permit staff to leave work at the end of ‘core’ working time which may be either 3.30pm or 4pm depending on the business area. Generally, these arrangements are sufficient for any member of staff with concerns about any unrest associated with the flag protests, to leave earlier than is their norm. Under these arrangements there is no associated cost to the Departmental budget.

However, there has been a limited number of staff with specific concerns who were allowed by management to leave work early and given credit for the time in question. Details of staff numbers and the associated financial cost are set out in the table below.

The figures provided are up to and including 18 January 2013.

* This figure is based on average salary costs for the grades of the staff in question. Part of the cost is funded through DSD’s contract with the Department for Work & Pensions.