§ Mrs. GoldingTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will supply the figures for the number of weeks, after having their babies, that working women have off before they return to work, for each of the years since 1983.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe information for each year since 1983 is not available. However, the survey "Maternity Rights in Britain" by the Policy Studies Institute, based on research co-funded by the Department, indicates that in 1988 working women returned to work after a median of 19 weeks absence following child birth.