HC Deb 28 April 2003 vol 404 c284W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff in his Department have used their leave entitlement under the parental leave directive since it came into force. [108414]

Mr. Lammy

The information requested is not held centrally. Responsibility for authorising and monitoring parental leave is devolved to individual management units and is treated as a personal issue between line management and staff.

The Department is committed to supporting its staff to work flexibly around their family responsibilities and has a flexible working pattern policy. This benefits the Department, as parents are able to work in an organisation where they feel supported and are able to work flexibly around their family responsibilities.