Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether (a) his Department and (b) each of its arms length bodies offers employees who are foster carers (i) flexible working, (ii) paid time off for (A) training and (B) settling a new child into their home and (iii) other support.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) Main Top Level Budget areas offer flexible working to all employees (role permitting), and legislation provides a day-one right to submit a request for flexible working.

Foster Carer’s Leave is available, including up to five days Special Paid Leave (SPL) during assessment for approval as a foster carer; up to five days SPL during the approval process or when the child is in placement, and up to 10 days SPL at the start of a planned permanent placement. If both parents are employed by the MOD, then one can receive 10 days and other a maximum of five days.

Other support (beyond flexible working and Foster’s Carer’s Leave) available to foster carers comes in the form of family leave, other categories of special leave and pastoral provision, such as from line-management, networks and the Employee Assistance Programme.

Paid time off for training and developmental activity is available when it is undertaken in the course of benefiting a MOD role.

For those Arm’s Length Bodies that employ public servants, responsibility for their human resources policies is delegated to the organisation and it has not been possible to confirm each organisation’s policy regarding foster carers in the time available for a Parliamentary Question.