To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many staff at each grade in his Department have opted out of the Working Time Regulations. (137679)

The Department is committed to reducing the number of employees who work in excess of the Working Time Directive maximum to an absolute minimum.

The current number and grade of employees who have signed a formal opt out from the Working Time Directive is set out in the table as follows:

The number of hours that each employee works per week is not kept centrally, therefore the number of hours in excess of the maximum allowed under the Working Time Directive could be provided only at disproportionate cost.