Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of flexible working patterns offered to enable parents to (a) work and (b) afford the costs of childcare.

We know from reviews of the existing legislative framework as well as the impact assessment of the measures in the Employment Rights Bill that there is clear demand for adequate flexible working arrangements from parents, as there is with other groups in the workforce. Flexible working can help parents manage their childcare responsibilities and reduce the cost of childcare.

Through Make Work Pay the Government committed to making flexible working the default except where not reasonably feasible, making it more likely that requests are accepted. Clauses contained in the Employment Rights Bill will achieve this aim.