Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has a carer's policy for its employees; and what other steps her Department has taken to support employees with caring responsibilities.

DFID’s People Policies provide discretion and opportunity to support employees who have caring responsibilities. Our flexible working policy provides employees with caring responsibility the ability to combine and balance personal and work responsibilities, and our leave policy includes discretion to approve longer term leave to help employees where there is a need to respond to a life changing event that requires them to take on more or new caring responsibilities. DFID’s counselling service in the form of an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is available to all employees who need personal support for a range of issues, including work stress, coping with change, depression, marriage/relationship issues, legal concerns, parenting issues, financial problems and more. This service is available 24 hours per day, 365 days a year. DFID employees also have access to a variety of valuable networks. These include a Listening, Parents of Disabled Children, Carers for Vulnerable Adults and Parent Support Networks.