§ Ms. Richardsonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is (a) the proportion of working time allocated to his Department equal opportunities officer for equal opportunities duties, (b) the other duties 45W carried out by the departmental equal opportunities officer, (c) the proportion, and the amount, of the departmental budget which is allocated to equal opportunities work, (d) the number of occasions when the departmental equal opportunities officer meets equal opportunities officers from other Government Departments each year, (e) the guidelines issued to his departmental training officers and equal opportunities officers to promote the use of section 47 of the Sex Discrimination Act, and (f) the action taken to facilitate job share, part-time working and parental leave.
§ Mr. MacGregorMy departmental equal opportunities officer is a grade 5 post and does not have an allocation of time as such for equal opportunities duties, but a significent proportion of her duties do fall within the equal opportunities sphere. Apart from administering policy on equal opportunities, the other main duties include: pay and related matters, welfare, staff training, appointments and industrial relations. No separate provision is made in the departmental budget for equal opportunities work. There are many formal and informal occasions when equal opportunities officers meet their colleagues in other Government Departments. No specific guidance has been issued to promote the use of section 47 of the Sex Discrimination Act but my Department is guided by the recommendations in the programme of action on women. My Department creates part-time posts and job sharing arrangements wherever practical and those responsible for staffing have been asked to identify posts which are suitable. A notice has been issued to all staff inviting those interested in part-time work or job-sharing to register with their personnel officers. Leave is granted to cover such situations as maternity leave, adoption and the caring of children during school holidays. Special leave may also be granted for "domestic distress" which in some instances could be occasioned by the need to care for children.