§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many senior civil servants from an ethnic minority background are employed in his Department; and how many of them are(a) men and (b) women. [110686]
§ Angela EagleAs at 1 April 1999, 55 members of the senior civil service across all government Departments were from ethnic minority background (1.7 per cent).
Information on ethnic origin in the Civil Service is collected on the understanding that it will be treated on a confidential basis. To protect the privacy of individual members of staff we do not disclose data relating to fewer than five people. This Department has fewer than 5 people of ethnic minority background in the Senior Civil Service.
However, a range of measures are in place to improve representation at senior levels. These include a Leadership Group on Equal Opportunities, chaired by the Permanent Secretary, with representation drawn from senior grades and the Trade Unions, the aim of which is to promote diversity issues across the Department.
§ Caroline FlintTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what provisions are made available to (i) departmental staff and (ii) employees of executive agencies under the control of his Department, for(a) maternity leave, (b) maternity pay, (c) paternity leave, (d) parental leave, (e) flexible working hours, (f) part-time work, (g) job sharing, (h) leave to care for sick children, (i) home-working, (j) term-time contracts, (k) annual hours contract, (1) child care allowances, (m) careers' leave and (n) career break schemes; and what criteria are used to judge eligibility in each case; [108853]
(2) in each of the last five years, what proportion of women employees in (i) his Department and (ii) executive agencies under the control of his Department (a) returned to work after childbirth, (b) returned to work after childbirth before the end of maternity leave, indicating the (1) time-range and (2) mean time, (c) returned to work after childbirth on reduced working hours, indicating the average hours worked and (d) returned to work after childbirth full-time and subsequently reduced their hours; [108973]
(3) what childcare provision was made available in the financial year 1998–99 for use by (i) his departmental staff and (ii) employees of executive agencies under the 171W control of his Department; what was the cost to parents of this childcare; and how many parents used the facilities. [108974]
§ Angela EagleI refer my hon. Friend to the Written answer from my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 15 February 2000,Official Report, columns 518–22W.
Information about women employees and childcare provision is not available in the format requested as detailed information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
However, this Department and its Agencies, are fully committed to providing a family friendly environment to help staff balance home and work responsibilities. The specific provisions and their eligibility criteria are follows.
All women are eligible for up to a maximum of 52 weeks maternity leave.
Women with one-year service at the time they give birth are entitled to 17 weeks paid maternity leave.
Staff are entitled to seven days paid paternity leave and up to a maximum of 10 days paid leave in exceptional circumstances.
Parents have an automatic right to parental leave of three months for the care of children until aged eight and until aged eighteen for children with special educational needs. This is in excess of the Parental Leave Directive. Staff are also entitled to reasonable paid time off to attend to urgent and unforeseeable domestic incidents involving their children.
Flexible working hours are generally available to most staff with individual patterns being determined locally within a framework to meet business needs.
Part-time work and job sharing are available to staff where arrangements can be made to balance the individual's requirement to work reduced hours and the business constraints in doing so. All requests are treated sympathetically and most are approved, however there is an appeals' procedure to deal with unsuccessful requests.
Parents with at least one-year service are eligible for up to 7 days paid special and or extended unpaid special leave to care for sick children and if the normal childcare arrangement is interrupted or breaks down.
The Department's homeworking policy aims to achieve a successful balance between the individual's requirement to work at home and the business constraints in doing so. Managers will support requests for short-term homeworking to help parents manage caring responsibilities.
Term-time and annual contracts working are available to staff where arrangements can be made to balance the individual's requirement to work reduced hours and the business constraints in doing so. All requests are treated sympathetically and most are approved, however there is an appeals' procedure for unsuccessful requests.
The Department provides for child care allowances in several ways by meeting the full cost of family care expenses if staff are required to work outside normal 172W working hours; child care subsidy ranges from £7-£30 and is available for staff to access both Departmentally sponsored or commercial facilities.
The Department operates a career break scheme of up to five years for parents to care for children.
Staff in the Department have access to nursery places and holiday playschemes in a variety of locations across the country. The cost of this childcare varies according to the age of the child, the nature of the provision and the location of the childcare. However, there is a subsidy available to staff of up £30 per child per week. This represents a 30 per cent. subsidy on the total cost of care.
Each business unit is responsible for making its own detailed arrangements which are suitable for local circumstances.