HC Deb 05 May 2004 vol 420 cc1632-3W
Mr. Wyatt

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many and what percentage of women in Sittingbourne and Sheppey have taken 26 weeks' maternity leave since 1997. [170294]

Mr. Sutcliffe

Take-up of maternity leave is not recorded centrally. It is possible to make an estimate of the numbers of women taking maternity leave based on employer returns to Inland Revenue for payment of Statutory Maternity Pay (since 2003 this has covered the first 26 weeks of leave). Figures for the take-up of SMP are not available on a regional basis, but nationally around 300,000 women receive SMP each year.

In addition, there will be some women who will qualify for maternity leave but not SMP (because they do not meet the earnings criteria) and similarly some who qualify for SMP but not leave (because they are employed earners for the purposes of SMP but not employees in order to qualify for leave).

Mr. Wyatt

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the effects on residents of Sittingbourne and Sheppey of new rights for night-shift workers. [170296]

Mr. Sutcliffe

The Working Time Regulations came into force on 1 October 1998. The regulations limit working time to 48 hours per week averaged over a 17-week reference period. For night workers the limit is eight hours per day on average, including overtime where it is part of a night worker's normal hours of work. There is no opt-out from the night working time limit.

Night workers are entitled to 11 hours rest between working days, one day's rest per week, and a 20-minute in work rest break if the working period is longer than six hours.

All night workers should be offered a free health assessment before they start working night and thereafter at regular intervals for as long as they are working nights. The health assessments should take account of the nature of the work and the restrictions on a worker's working time under the regulations. Workers who suffer from problems as a result of working at night, should as far as practicable be offered alternative day work.

All workers are entitled to four weeks paid annual leave. There is no specific data available for night shift workers in Sittingbourne and Sheppey.

Mr. Wyatt

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many residents of Sittingbourne and Sheppey qualify for paid leave entitlements. [170297]

Mr. Sutcliffe

All workers resident in Sittingbourne and Sheppey qualify for paid annual leave entitlements; at least four weeks as set out in the Working Time Regulations. While all women are entitled to 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave, only those who meet the eligibility criteria will be able to claim statutory maternity pay for that period.

All employees in Sittingbourne and Sheppey who are eligible will be entitled to take statutory paternity leave with pay and statutory adoption leave with pay.

Mr. Wyatt

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many residents of Sittingbourne and Sheppey have benefited from a reduction of the working week to 48 hours. [170298]

Mr. Sutcliffe

The Working Time Regulations provide workers with the right to refuse to work more than 48 hours on average, if they do not want to. Numbers for Sittingbourne and Sheppey are not available, however it has been estimated that around 400,000 workers resident in the South East stood to benefit from the introduction of the weekly working time limits in 1998.