§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how he intends to inform all of his Department's and Employment Service staff of the developing policies towards carers outlined in the National Strategy for Carers. [78549]
§ Ms HodgeEarlier this month my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, the DfEE Board and the ES Chief Executive issued a message to all staff in the Department and the Employment Service letting them know what was happening on childcare and family friendly policies in DfEE and ES and emphasising their commitment to continue to make progress in this area. The message has been placed in the Library.
Both the Department for Education and Employment and the Employment Service have a programme of work in hand which will provide support for carers. This includes developing family friendly policies to meet the needs of staff with a range of caring responsibilities. We will be taking account of the National Carers Strategy as we develop our own family friendly policies. We will be keeping staff informed of progress through a variety of internal communications.