§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Solicitor-General what estimate she has made of the(a) financial costs and (b) benefits to her Department of the Parental Leave Directive. [42492]
§ The Solicitor-General[holding answer 14 March 2002]: In my own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers all staff are on secondment from other Departments. Matters relating to parental leave are dealt with by their parent Departments.
In the Departments for the which the Attorney-General has responsibility, details are as follows.
Crown Prosecution Service
With effect from 1 April 1998, the Crown Prosecution Service's policy on special leave was amended to allow three months parental leave on the grounds of the birth or adoption of a child to all staff who have been employed by the Department for 12 months or longer. This entitlement is available for each child, and can be taken before the child's 8th birthday. In relation to adoption, the leave can ben taken up to eight years after the child is first placed with the family for adoption, or until the child's 18th birthday if that is sooner.
In relation to a child with a disability, parental leave may be taken up to the child's 18th birthday.
At present, the Department does not retain data relating specifically to parental leave and is therefore unable to quantify the financial costs of the Parental Leave Directive.
It is known that during the period from 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001, 11 members of staff took paternity leave, which amounted to approximately 120 days absence. However, the grades of the staff taking paternity leave were not recorded and therefore the Department cannot give an estimated cost for that period.
Treasury Solicitor's Department
The Treasury Solicitor's Department estimate that there will not be a material financial cost to the Department as a result of the Parental Leave Directive. The cost to the Treasury Solicitor's Department since December 1999 has been £3,083.85.
The benefits of parental leave to the Department have been to reinforce the Department's policy of assisting staff in maintaining a balance between work and home life.
Serious Fraud Office
The Serious Fraud Office has yet to receive an application for parental leave from any of its staff. However, the Department considers the financial implication of granting parental leave to be minimal, as the leave is unpaid.
The Serious Fraud Office sees the benefits of parental leave as being (i) to offer staff more family friendly options and thus improve morale and motivation within 545W the Department, (ii) to improve recruitment and retention, (iii) to promote Government policies and (iv) to comply with legislation.