Departmental Child Care Facilities

Mr. Weir
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what child care (a) provision and (b) assistance is available to his Department's staff;

(2) which of his Department's premises have child care facilities on site;

(3) whether there are waiting lists for places at child care facilities which his Department provides for its employees.

Mr. Hain
The Wales Office is a small organisation, with 54 staff based in Cardiff and London. It draws its staff from other bodies, namely the National Assembly for Wales and Department for Constitutional Affairs. While it is not practical for the Wales Office to provide its own on-site creche or nursery places, staff can access subsidised child care places or child care vouchers through their employing bodies.

These schemes support parents' own choices about what child care they want for their child.