To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make a statement on Government policy towards national guidelines on adoption leave for parents adopting a child. [34759]

The Government are committed to implementing the EC Parental Leave Directive, which will provide both parents with the basic entitlement to three months unpaid leave following the birth or adoption of a child. The Directive contains a number of flexibilities, including the requirement to consider whether entitlement to parental leave needs to be adapted to meet the circumstances of adoption. We shall want to give full consideration to these matters and consult on options for implementation. We are required to implement the Directive by December 1999.