§ Mr. Cohenasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the minimum number of days he proposes to fix, under European Economic Community directive 11118/83, for parental leave and leave for family reasons.
§ Mr. GummerThe draft European Community directive on parental leave and leave for family reasons was issued by the EC Commission shortly before Christmas. The Government have grave doubts about the value of a directive in this field and I understand that these doubts are shared by a number of other member states. It is therefore most unlikely that if the directive is put to the Council of Ministers for final decision it will be put in its present form or that this will happen for some time yet. Consequently, it is premature to consider what measures might be taken to implement the directive in the United Kingdom.