§ Caroline FlintTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what child care provision was made available in the financial year 1998–99 for use by (i) his departmental staff and (ii) employees of executive agencies under the control of his Department; what was the cost to parents of this child care; and how many parents used the facilities. [108829]
§ Mr. StrawThe Civil Service as a whole is striving for an improved balance between work and family life. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to her by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 15 February 2000,Official Report, columns 518–19W.
The Home Office provides subsidised child care as part of a raft of policies to enable staff to better balance their work and home responsibilities.
During the financial year 1998–99, the Home Office provided 157 subsidised nursery places to employees with children under five at a variety of locations. Emergency care was usually available at these locations for employees who had short-term difficulties with their usual child care provision. Holiday Playschemes are run in central London, Croydon, and on Merseyside during half terms and all the major school holidays for children aged five—12. A breakdown of the overall departmental provision including details of the parental contribution to fees and the number of parents who benefited from the provision is shown in the table.
The parental contribution varies according to the location of the nursery or playscheme, but on average the department meets 38 per cent. of the child care costs. 805W
Nursery provision in the Home Office during 1998–99 Management/location Name of nursery Number of places Weekly parental payment(£) Number of parents benefiting Core Home Office-Merseyside Bootle, Liverpool Bees Knees 5 53.50 10 Fire Service College Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire Welephants 12 57.50 15 Total 157 201
Home Office provision of playschemes during 1998–99 Management/location Playscheme Daily parental contribution Number of parents who benefited from provision Immigration and Nationality Department Croydon Sunbeam Club £8.50 118 Core Home Office-Merseyside Bootle, Liverpool St. John's Playscheme £3.50 for 1st child and £4 for other siblings 21 Core Home Office Central London Westminster Holiday Playscheme £9 27 Total 166
§ Caroline FlintTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provisions are made available to (i) departmental staff and (ii) employees of executive agencies under the control of his Department, for(a) maternity leave, (b) maternity pay, (c) paternity leave, (d) parental leave, (e) flexible working hours, (f) part-time work, (g) job sharing, (h) leave to care for sick children, (i) home-working, (j) term-time contracts, (k) annual hours contract, (1) child care allowances, (m) careers' leave and (n) career break schemes; and what criteria are used to judge eligibility in each case. [108851]
§ Mr. StrawThe Civil Service as a whole is striving for an improved balance between work and family life. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to her by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 15 February 2000,Official Report, columns 519W-22W.
Changes to the maternity leave rights under the Employment Relations Act 1999, will apply to core Home Office employees who are pregnant and whose expected week of childbirth is the week commencing 30 April 2000 or later.
806W
Agencies Proportion of women employees 1 January 1995 to 9 February 2000 Home Office1 Fire Service College Forensic Science Service United Kingdom Passport Agency HM Prison Service All cases of childbirth where return status is known 1,664 21 229 325 599 (a) returned to work after childbirth2 99 per cent. 95.2 per cent. 100 per cent. 99 per cent. 98.5 per cent. (1,646) (20) (229) (322) (590) (b) returned to work after childbirth before end of maternity leave3 12.8 per cent. 4.76 per cent. 9.6 per cent. 22.4 per cent. n/a (212) (1) (22) (72) (n/a) (1) time-range in days 40–97 96–97 95–97 67–97 442–371 (2) mean time in days 95.4 96.95 96.5 96.04 144 The Department currently meets the majority of these rights with its existing policy. I have placed a copy of the detailed statement in the Library.
§ Caroline FlintTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in the last five years, what proportion of women employees in (i) his Department and (ii) executive agencies under the control of his Department(a) returned to work after childbirth, (b) returned to work after childbirth before the end of maternity leave, indicating the (1) time-range and (2) mean time, (c) returned to work after childbirth on reduced working hours, indicating the average hours worked and (d) returned to work after childbirth full-time and subsequently reduced their hours. [109231]
§ Mr. StrawThe Civil Service as a whole is striving for an improved balance between work and family life. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to her by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 15 February 2000,Official Report, columns 519W-20W. 807W
Agencies Proportion of women employees 1 January 1995 to 9 February 2000 Home Office1 Fire Service College Forensic Science Service United Kingdom Passport Agency HM Prison Service (c) returned to work after childbirth on reduced hours.5 9.4 per cent. 0 per cent. 11.35 per cent. 6.46 per cent. 23.6 per cent. (157) (00) (26) (21) (139) average hours worked 21:04 n/a 22:40 21:10 22:00 (d) returned to work after childbirth full-time and subsequently reduced their hours7 25.1 per cent. 19 per cent. 21.8 per cent. 31 per cent. n/a (418) (4) (50) (101) (n/a) 1 Staff movement between the Home Office and its Agencies can not be determined historically from the central personnel system. Figures given are for the careers of staff currently serving in the areas shown. 2 This figure may include certain staff who returned to work after an additional career break following maternity leave. 3 The proportion shown is that for staff returning before the end of paid maternity leave. Maternity leave changed from 14 to 18 weeks in 1999. A period of 14 weeks paid maternity leave has been used. 4 For Prison Service staff it is assumed that all staff have taken the period of maternity leave due to them. The time-range given is that for all staff returning. 5 The Home Office personnel system only holds current information on staff hours. This figure shows those staff who returned on reduced hours (and who have not since reverted to full-time working). Staff whose hours reduced within three days of their return are included in (c). 6 The Prison Service personnel system only holds current information on staff hours. This figure shows those staff who either returned on part-time hours or later reduced their hours. 7 The Home Office and non-Prison Service Agency figures in (d) shows those whose hours have reduced since return and who have not after that change returned to full-time working.