To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact of the Part-time Workers Directive on staff in his Department. [109266]

My Department is committed to providing appropriate Work Life Balance for staff and part-time working is one of several ways in which staff are afforded flexibility in their working patterns. Approximately 8 per cent. of staff in the Central Department work on a part-time basis.The Part-time Workers (Prevention of less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 have re-inforced the policies applying in my Department of providing equality of treatment regardless of working patterns. The Department supports a network for alternative workers, including part-timers.