Parental Leave (Hansard, 30 April 2003)

§ Alun Michael

Departmental figures for parental leave show that four people took leave in 2002 followed by a further two in 2003 to date. Defra came into being in 2001 for which no figures are available.

The Department is committed to having arrangements in place which allow staff to create an appropriate work/life balance and the unpaid parental leave entitlements sit alongside a range of alternative working patterns and contractual entitlements many of which offer some form of paid absence. They are offered to staff irrespective of grade or working pattern.

Letter from Peter Greig-Smith to Mr. John Bercow, dated April 2003: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has asked me to reply on behalf of CEFAS to your question concerning how many staff have taken time off from work in order to attend to domestic incidents as provided for by the Employment Relations Act 1999. The Information is not collated centrally within the Agency and could only be collected at disproportionate cost from individual personnel records. The Secretary of State has also asked me to reply to your question regarding how many staff have used their leave entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive. There have been no requests for parental leave under the provisions of this Directive.

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Letter from Johnston McNeill to Mr. John Bercow, dated 11 April 2003: I have been asked to respond directly to your two recent Parliamentary Questions concerning the Employment Relations Act 1999 and the Parental Leave Directive. Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff in her Department have taken time off from work in order to attend to domestic incidents as provided for by the Employment Relations Act 1999. Reply: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has policies in place which allow for special leave for staff to attend to domestic incidents. Responsibility for authorising and monitoring such leave is devolved to individual management units and can only be collated at disproportionate cost. Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff in her Department have used their leave entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive. Reply: The RPA is fully committed to helping employees achieve a better balance between home and work through family friendly policies Accordingly, the RPA, has policies in place to allow for Parental leave but the information required is not held centrally and cannot be collected without incurring disproportionate cost.

Letter from Steven Edwards to Mr. John Bercow, dated April 2003: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question on how many staff in her Department have used their leave entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive. There has been only limited take-up of this facility in the VLA. Figures for parental leave show that one person took leave in the period 1/4/02 to 31/3/03. Figures for earlier years are not held. The VLA is committed to having arrangements in place which allow staff to create an appropriate work/life balance and the unpaid parental leave entitlements sit alongside a range of alternative working patterns and contractual entitlements many of which offer some form of paid absence. They are offered to staff irrespective of Pay Band or working pattern.

Letter from Professor Mike Roberts to Mr. John Bercow, dated April 2003: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has asked me to reply, with respect to the Central Science Laboratory, to your question concerning how many staff have used their leave entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive. CSL allows staff to apply for unpaid Parental Leave. These claims are recorded centrally and records show that since the Parental Leave rights were announced in 1999, a total of 12 requests for unpaid Parental Leave have been received and all have been granted. The periods of leave range from 3 to 20 days. CSL is committed to the continued use of family-friendly working practices and views Parental Leave as merely one aspect of an organisational approach to flexible working that includes flexible working hours, part-time working, job-share, special leave, annual leave, tackling 'long hours' cultures, etc.