§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of the(a) women who are mothers and (b) men who are fathers who are employed by her Department have received assistance from the Department with child care. [1288]
§ Mr. Robin Squire[holding answer 4 November 1996]: Although the civil service collects statistical information on staff employed in Government Departments and executive agencies, we do not collect information on the parental status of individual staff. It would be inappropriate for us to request this information from staff and difficult to justify the collection of such data.
The Department is, however, able to give information on the number of staff who have received child care assistance.
Subsidised places are provided at four playschemes and two nurseries at the DFEE head office sites. Two hundred and twenty-one female and 101 male staff have used the play schemes or nurseries in the past 12 months.
Staff can claim additional child care expenses arising from attendance at a residential training course or from disruption to normal work routine. Thirty-five women and nine men have claimed additional child care expenses from the Department in the past 12 months.
430WThe Department also offers a range of provisions which can help staff balance home and home and work responsibilities:
Career breaks enable staff to take up to five years off work to cope with domestic responsibilities.
Paid and unpaid special leave is available to allow carers to deal with emergency child care cover.Staff can apply to have a flexible work pattern such as part time, job sharing and home working.