I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 16 June 2008:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the number and proportion of parents with children under 16 years of age who work only during school terms. (210103)
In April-June 2007, an estimated 542,000 parents in employment with at least one child under 16 had an agreed ‘term-time’ working arrangement. This figure accounts for 7 per cent. of parents in employment with children under 16. Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) household datasets. They are weighted to the population estimates published by ONS in February and March 2003. They do not incorporate the more recent population estimates used in the monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release.
In calculating the percentage, people who did not answer the LFS question about flexible working arrangements have been excluded.
The LFS is a sample survey covering over 52,000 households in the United Kingdom in each three month period. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.