To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what assessment the Government has made of the merits of encouraging employers to advertise posts as available for flexible working to help lone parents and carers back into the workplace; and if she will make a statement. (140850)

The benefits of advertising posts as available for flexible working are to give employers access to a bigger pool of potential employees, including lone parents and carers. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Women (Ruth Kelly) opened a debate on how to take flexible working into account in the recruitment process in a speech to employers on 16 May 2007 at the Work Wise UK Summit 2007. Many employers already advertise posts as suitable for job share or flexible hours and there are specialist recruitment agencies which bring together people looking for flexible work and the jobs that can be done flexibly, but these are still the exception.