To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what flexi-time arrangements were available to staff of his Department and its predecessors in each of the last five years; and how many staff participated in such arrangements in each such year. (290565)

The information is as follows:

1. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was created on 5 June, with the merger of BERR and DIUS.

2. Both staff on former BERR and DIUS terms and conditions have flexible working policies which enable staff to vary their conditioned hours, and support a work-life balance. The different ways to work flexibly include flexi-time, part-time, also compressed hours, term-times and home working. In addition staff can job share and have access to an internal job share register and the wider Civil Service Job Share Website.

3. The former Departments do not keep a central record of how many staff participate in such arrangements each year; flexible working is dealt with locally by line managers in accordance with the departmental policies. In the 2008 Staff Surveys, of the staff who responded to the survey 68 per cent. of former BERR and 66 per cent. of former DIUS staff said they worked flexibly.