Departmental Staff (Hansard, 22 February 2000)

§ Caroline Flint
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what provisions are made available to Departmental staff 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 contracts, (1) child care allowances, (m) careers leave and (n) career break schemes; and what criteria are used to judge eligibility in each case. [108840]

§ Mr. Paul Murphy
The Civil Service as a whole is striving for an improved balance between work and family life. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to her by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on 15 February 2000,Official Report, column 519W.
Provision for these matters is set out in the Terms and Conditions of Service Code, which for my Department are the same as the Terms and Conditions of Service for the National Assembly for Wales. A copy of this Code has been placed in the Library of the House.
There are some exceptions. Annualised hours and term time working are not currently operated in my Department, and parental leave is not explicitly covered but falls within current special leave provision. The Code is currently being amended to take account of the provisions under the Employment Relations Act 1998.

§ Caroline Flint
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what childcare provision was made available in the financial year 1998–99 for use by his departmental staff; what was the cost to parents of this childcare; and how many parents used the facilities. [108857]

§ Mr. Paul Murphy
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to her by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 15 February 2000,Official Report, column 518W.
The table shows the type of childcare provision in my Department; the number of parents who used it; and the cost to parents, for 1998–99.

Type of childcare provision Nursery Holiday playscheme

Number of places ¹30 ²50

Cost to Welsh Office parents per day £19.00 £8.00

Cost of private places per day £22.00 £12.00

¹All 30 places at the nursery were occupied.

²The 50 places represent those occupied by a consortium including the Welsh Office and others, for example Employment Services. The playscheme operated in both the Easter and Summer holidays during which time 33 and 17 places were occupied respectively by children of Welsh Office staff.

§ Caroline Flint
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 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 847W the average hours worked and (d) returned to work after childbirth full-time and subsequently reduced their hours. [109233]

§ Mr. Paul Murphy
From July 1994 to June 1999, 89 per cent. of those staff in the Welsh Office who took maternity leave had returned to work by the end of their provision within the Department's maternity scheme. From July 1999 to date, 100 per cent. of staff who have been on maternity leave in the Wales Office have returned to work
The current provision is set out in the Leave and Attendance section of the National Assembly Terms and Conditions of Service Code, Chapter 5, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
The remaining information is not held centrally and would be available only at disproportionate cost.

§ Mr. Cox
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many senior civil servants from an ethnic minority background are employed in his Department; and how many of them are(a) men and (b) women. [110683]

§ Mr. Paul Murphy
As at 1 April 1999, 55 members of the senior civil service were from ethnic minority background (1.7 per cent.).
Information on ethnic origin in the Civil Service is collected on the understanding that it will be treated on a confidential basis. To protect the privacy of individual members of staff we do not disclose data relating to fewer than five people.
My Department has fewer than five senior civil servants in total.

Type of childcare provision	Nursery	Holiday playscheme
Number of places	¹30	²50
Cost to Welsh Office parents per day	£19.00	£8.00
Cost of private places per day	£22.00	£12.00
¹All 30 places at the nursery were occupied.
²The 50 places represent those occupied by a consortium including the Welsh Office and others, for example Employment Services. The playscheme operated in both the Easter and Summer holidays during which time 33 and 17 places were occupied respectively by children of Welsh Office staff.