Written question asked by Lord Bruce of Bennachie (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 30 April 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 12 May 2004. It was answered by Gerry Sutcliffe (Labour) on Wednesday, 12 May 2004 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many men took (a) parental leave and (b) time off for dependants in each year since 1997 prior to 6th April 2003, broken down by (i) region (ii) income and (iii) length of leave. - Inc figure.

Answer: Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many men took (a) parental leave and (b) time off for dependants in each year since 1997 prior to 6 April 2003, broken down by (i) region (ii) income and (iii) length of leave. [171295] Mr. Sutcliffe: It is not possible to provide the information requested since take up of parental leave and time off for dependants are not recorded centrally. However, a recent survey commissioned by the DTI (The Second Work-life Balance Survey: Results from the Employees' Survey, Employment Relations Research Series No. 27) suggests that 4 per cent. of all parents with dependant children took parental leave in the year preceding the survey.

Secondary information