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Dept of Trade and Industry

Answer

Dr. Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans there are to monitor and record the number of workers (a) requesting and (b) being granted flexible working in (i) central government, (ii) local government, (iii) the public sector and (iv) the private sector; and if she will make a statement. [128673] Mr. Sutcliffe: In addition to the detail my answer to my hon. Friend on 1 July, Official Report, column 214W, my Department has since commissioned questions on flexible working to appear in the monthly Office of National Statistics omnibus survey. The Government is taking a strategic approach to monitoring flexible working. This will feed into the review of the new flexible working law it is committed to commencing in 2006 and to the future work of the Government's Work-Life Balance campaign. The approach involves gathering qualitative and quantitative evidence to establish a comprehensive research base. The Government is circulating a summary of the Government's approach to how it is monitoring all the new working parent laws introduced in April 2003 to interested parties, which is also available at www.dti.gov.uk/workingparents. This invites others to share their own experience of the new laws, including flexible working.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

128673; 410 c391W;410 c431W

Session

2002-03

Subjects

Central government Local government Private sector Public sector Monitoring Staff Working hours Flexitime

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk