§ Mr. BercowTo ask the President of the Council what estimate he has made of the(a) financial costs and (b) benefits to his Department of the Parental Leave Directive. [42479]
§ Mr. Robin CookThus far, no member of staff in my Department has sought parental leave. No estimate of the financial costs has been made as these would differ according to individual circumstances.
The potential benefits to the Privy Council Office of the Parental Leave Directive are considered to be: experienced staff can be retained by offering extra time away from work to care for their children; improved staff morale and performance through a better work and life balance; and improved planning of staff absences.