§ Mr. FraserTo ask the Attorney-General how many of his Department's management training courses include sessions on equal opportunities for women; and what proportion of managers at grade six level and above working outside headquarters has received training on equal opportunities for women.
§ The Attorney-GeneralNeither the legal secretariat to the Law Officers nor the Treasury Solicitor's Department undertakes its own management training. In the Treasury Solicitor's Department, staff at grade six level and above who are working outside headquarters receive management training at the Civil Service College. In the Crown prosecution service training on equal opportunities for women is integrated into management training and is not dealt with as a separate issue. In the period from September 1988 to January 1989 a series of industrial relations courses, which included a specific session on equal opportunities, was run for grade six officers and above. In the Serious Fraud Office, departmental training courses do not include sessions on equal opportunities for women, but members of staff may attend courses at the Civil Service College, where such sessions are a feature of the course work.
§ Mr. FraserTo ask the Attorney-General what action he has taken, and what action he intends taking, to implement the recommendations within his area of responsibility of the European Commission's childcare network report "Caring for Children—Services and Policies for Childcare and Equal Opportunities in the United Kingdom".
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe report was prepared for the European Commission which has not yet developed any proposals. The Government believe that policy on child care is a matter for member states. The United Kingdom's policy is that it is for families themselves to determine how their children are to be brought up and how parents, who wish to do so, can best combine paid work and family responsibilities. The Government, through the Department of Health and the ministerial group on women's issues, has encouraged the development of a range of high quality child care options for both parents and employers.
§ Mr. FraserTo ask the Attorney-General what childcare provision his Department provides for preschool age children of employees: what childcare provision for school holidays or after-school care is provided for employees' children aged five years or over; what plans there are for increasing provision in the next five years; and how these are to be funded.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThere is no provision of child care for pre-school age children of employees in any of the Departments for which I am responsible. No child care provision is provided in the legal secretariat to the Law Officers, Crown prosecution service or the Serious Fraud Office for employees' children aged five years or over, but for the Treasury Solicitor's Department there is a holiday play scheme for 32 children which is run during half-term holidays and between terms by the Cabinet Office in420W conjunction with the Westminster Play Association, but there is no provision for after-school care. The holiday play scheme will continue while there is space available.
There are no plans to increase provision in the next five years in the legal secretariat to the Law Officers or the Serious Fraud Office. In the Treasury Solicitor's Department it is proposed to introduce a pre-school age nursery subject to there being space available. No decision has been made on how the nursery is to be funded. The Crown prosecution service has agreed to participate in and make a financial contribution towards a study of the feasibility of establishing a number of interdepartmental nurseries in and around central London. As part of this study, the Crown prosecution service has distributed questionnaires to all staff in the London area to find the numbers of employees who would wish to use child care facilities in the future. The service will consider shared funding of child care facilities in those areas where its provision is feasible.
§ Mr. FraserTo ask the Attorney-General what grade is his Department's equal opportunities officer.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe equal opportunities officer in the legal secretariat to the Law Officers is a grade four, in the Treasury Solicitor's Department a grade six, in the Crown prosecution service a grade seven and in the Serious Fraud Office a higher executive officer.
§ Mr. FraserTo ask the Attorney-General what measures he has implemented to ensure that recruitment and promotion policy in his Department does not directly or indirectly discriminate against applicants who were mature students or women returning to work following a career-break due to child care.
§ The Attorney-GeneralIn the legal secretariat to the Law Officers and the Treasury Solicitor's Department the recruitment of all staff above the grade of executive officer is undertaken by the Civil Service Commission. Officers appointed to recruitment boards for administrative officer and below and promotion boards are reminded of the policy of equal opportunities in the department. In the Crown prosecution service a departmental career break scheme is being developed to ensure that those members of staff who have a break in their career for domestic reasons have the opportunity to maintain their career momentum via a departmental "keeping in touch" scheme.
The Crown prosecution service has also targeted recruitment publications aimed at mature students and women returning to work following a career break. It has provided working arrangements to suit staff with domestic commitments and has introduced flexible working terms, part-time working, and enhanced arrangements for sabattical leave. All established staff compete equally for promotion opportunities in the service.
The Serious Fraud Office has recently launched an advertising campaign to attract part-time staff with family commitments. A person would not be subject to discrimination in either recruitment to the Serious Fraud Office or promotion therein on account of their age, providing they are below the normal Civil Service retiring age.
§ Mr. FraserTo ask the Attorney-General what proportion of civil servants in his Department are women at each of the grades(a) seven, (b) six, (c) five, (d) four, (e) three, (f) two and (g) one.
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§ The Attorney-Generalproportions in each of the Departments for which I am responsible are as follows:
Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers Treasury Solicitor's Department Crown Prosecution Service Serious Fraud Ofice A. Grade 7 0/0 11/49 164/603 0/4 B. Grade 6 0/3 14/58 16/152 3/14 C. Grade 5 2/4 4/39 2/54 2/10 D. Grade 4 0/2 0/0 0/9 0/0 E. Grade 3 1/1 0/10 0/4 0/2 F. Grade 2 0/0 0/0 0/1 0/1 G. Grade 1 0/0 0/1 0/1 0/0