§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of the staff of his Department are part-time employees. [47191]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 10 April 2002]: The Department currently has 496 staff (9.5 per cent.) working part-time.
The Department has for some time had a flexible working patterns policy and actively encourages and supports its staff and managers to work flexibly. A range of flexible working patterns including part-time working, job sharing and home working is available to staff by arrangement with their management.