Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Bill

Jack Brereton Excerpts

3rd reading
Friday 26th April 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

As many colleagues know, I spoke on Second Reading of this Bill, so I am delighted to see it progress to its final stages in the Commons. I want again to commend the hon. Member for Ogmore (Chris Elmore) for progressing his Bill so amiably through to this stage. It is a highly emotive Bill; while the numbers who will benefit each year are thankfully relatively small, the impact on those families is huge. Reflecting that, it has been extremely positive to see the wide, cross-party support this Bill has attracted, especially of course from my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Darren Henry), who I know has long campaigned on this issue.

As I said on Second Reading, as a father myself it is hard to imagine the impact and trauma that a family must go through on the loss of a mother during childbirth. Tragically, however, those situations do occur, so we must put in place the laws needed to protect properly the rights of those who remain, to keep the family together and to support single parents in coping with raising a child or children alone, something that many will not have expected ever to face.

Any parent will know that juggling all the responsibilities of raising children alongside employment and everything else can be stressful at the best of times. This Bill helps to protect the rights of those families at the most traumatic and distressing point, as they get beyond the horrific loss of a mother, with all the stresses and strains that such circumstances will entail, and gives them the time they need to move forward as best they can, both physically and mentally.

I have read through the changes made in Committee and I think they are sensible to ensure that the Bill achieves the best possible desired effect. The most significant change now refocuses the Bill on addressing the specific issues through paternity leave, as opposed to through shared parental leave as was originally envisaged, creating day one rights for paternity leave. That is a particularly important change for those families where the deceased mother did not work. Under the Bill as first proposed, there would not have been any shared parental leave for the other parent to access, but paternity rights exist whatever the entitlement of the other parent. As amended, the proposed extension to paternity rights is the best possible choice and will ensure that more families in such tragic circumstances can benefit from the changes.

It is important that those rights are extended to cases where, as the hon. Member for Ogmore said, both mother and child do not survive childbirth, to reflect the impossibly challenging trauma of getting through losing both a partner and an expected child. Although I recognise that this Bill does not do everything that was originally envisaged to address the issue of pay—in an ideal world that would also be resolved—I think there is recognition that addressing pay is more complex. I hope that will continue to be considered further, and I will closely follow it.

It should be recognised that many employers will already go over and above to support employees during such circumstances, both with leave and financially. I hope the provisions will be treated as a floor, not a ceiling, for the support offered. There will also be other bereavement support for which individuals might be eligible.

The Bill is a major step forward in securing the rights of families going through the toughest of circumstances having lost a mother. It will have a major beneficial impact on those families when they are at their most vulnerable. I wish my hon. Friend continued success in this important Bill’s progress through the other place, and I look forward to seeing it become law.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

I call the shadow Minister.

Post Office Ltd

Jack Brereton Excerpts

Monday 29th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Hollinrake]

The bonuses were returned voluntarily by anybody who received them for that sub-metric, and the chief executive returned his bonuses from across the entire inquiry.

On the point about the Government picking up the pace because of the ITV drama, I would say a couple of things. We were putting a number of measures in place already. We had put in place the Horizon compensation advisory board, which has Lord Arbuthnot as one of its key members. A fixed-sum award was introduced last autumn. We were looking at advice on overturning convictions. Things were happening at pace in this area prior to the dramatisation, but of course we are public servants and members of the public. Of course we want to expedite things, and the impetus behind them is at a raised level because of the public outcry.

Conversations are ongoing with Fujitsu. In my view, the best point to negotiate is when we have all the evidence at our disposal, which will not be until the inquiry concludes. We welcome the fact that the company has taken and accepted some moral responsibility to contribute towards the compensation and we will take it at its word, but negotiating at the right point is the right way to deal with that.

The question of any excess moneys that came back from postmasters effectively into Post Office accounts is an important one, which we are asking now, and we hope to get answers in the near future.

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

I spoke recently to a couple of my constituents whose parents were wronged by the Post Office Horizon scandal. Now they are being asked to provide invoices from more than 20 years ago to prove that they bought the Horizon system—records the Post Office itself admits it does not keep. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is right that we focus on those who have been wronged, and that the benefit of the doubt must be with those postmasters who were completely wronged?

[Kevin Hollinrake]

That is absolutely right. It should not be the case that a postmaster has to evidence a document that does not exist. The benefit of the doubt should be with the postmaster. Of course it is fair to ask, “Do you have documentation to support any claim you are making?”, but if the evidence is not there, the benefit of the doubt should be with the postmaster.

Shared Parental Leave and Pay (Bereavement) Bill

Jack Brereton Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 26th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I commend the hon. Member for Ogmore (Chris Elmore) for introducing this important bill, as well as my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Darren Henry), who I understand has also attempted to introduce a similar Bill previously.

It is difficult for us to imagine the impact and trauma a family must go through on the loss of a mother during childbirth. Besides all the emotional impact of that loss of a loved one, the parent that remains has all the pressures of caring for the newly arrived baby and any other children without their other half. At a time when the family will be going through huge distress and the challenges of keeping the family going, it is only right that the father and other parent figures can be given all the support possible to get through such challenging circumstances.

As a parent myself with two young children, I would certainly find it near on impossible to cope with the loss of my wife and all that she does. I am sure Members across the House would agree that our other halves take on a huge amount, so to lose one in such a tragic circumstance is impossible to imagine. Though it is difficult for us to think about, those who lose their partner in childbirth must find a way of continuing life without them, and managing, without much thought for themselves, for the sake of their children and raising a newly born baby alone.

In those challenging circumstances, it is clear to me, as it will be to Members across the House, that time off work will be needed to sort out a number of issues and most importantly to care for and look after the newly arrived baby. As the father of two children, I know the round-the-clock attention new babies need from a parent. Such parents should have an equal right to be granted the same parental leave. The baby should be at the top of the list of priorities, without their parent having to worry about how they can juggle everything, cope alone and fight for time off work.

As the hon. Member for Ogmore said, to qualify for leave currently an individual must be continuously employed by the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the baby’s due date. For someone to be denied this leave simply because of the length of time they have worked for an employer is totally outrageous. The Bill is likely to be of benefit to only a small number of people each year, as has been mentioned, but it is necessary to address the injustice of their exclusion from the parental leave they so desperately need. Although I recognise the potential impact of this change on employers, it is far outweighed by the impact on those families who find themselves in this circumstance.

This flexibility is also potentially beneficial for employers as it enables them to retain an employee in the workforce. Without that supportive approach, a parent may find themselves in the impossible situation of having no choice but to give up work to look after their new baby.

I fully support the Bill. Where a mother has died, removing the continuity of employment conditions for the father or partner will ensure that families who have been through such difficult trauma get the basic entitlement that they deserve and can bring up their new baby as a parent should. I hope the Bill has a successful passage through the House and the other place.

Draft Dormant Assets (Distribution of Money) (England) Order 2023

Jack Brereton Excerpts

Wednesday 15th November 2023 General Committees

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

I promise not to detain the Committee too long, but I want to make a couple of points. I would first like to thank the Minister for all the work he has done. He has engaged very thoroughly with Members—I am vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for “left behind” neighbourhoods, and he has engaged very much with members of the APPG on development of a community wealth fund.

I also thank the Local Trust and the Community Wealth Fund Alliance for the work they have done to develop proposals around a community wealth fund, which is extremely important for communities identified as left behind. A number of those are in my constituency and others up and down the country. I also want to mention the point on targeting mentioned by the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Nottingham South. While we obviously need to focus on smaller towns, it is important that we do not exclude the most deprived 10% of communities in the entire country. We need to make sure that they are included as well and that the definition is not too narrow. I hope the Minister will reflect on that and will ensure that, in developing the proposal and the scheme for the community wealth fund, communities like Blurton, Meir and Newstead in my constituency will continue to be eligible for the community wealth fund.

[Mr Ranil Jayawardena (North East Hampshire) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that even in affluent communities there are pockets of deprivation that need support across this country? Some of the worst affected places that are lacking in means are in those affluent communities.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jack Brereton]

My right hon. Friend makes a very important point. The original definition set out a population size of around 10,000 in order to identify those wards with the highest levels of deprivation. The deprivation in some wards in the most affluent parts of the country is such that they need this funding and that support. It is really important to focus more on areas with the highest deprivation.

Yes, we need to support smaller towns, including Longton and Fenton in my constituency, but we also need to make sure that the smaller, most deprived communities—the top 10% identified as the most left-behind wards in the entire country—do not miss out on this funding. I hope that the Minister will reflect on that, and I am sure he will agree that it is important that we focus this funding into those areas where it is going to have the greatest impact and where it is needed most.

CPTPP: Conclusion of Negotiations

Jack Brereton Excerpts

Monday 17th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Kemi Badenoch]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. I know what she is trying to do, and I appreciate the effort, but it is not my job, as Trade Secretary, to make foreign policy at the Dispatch Box on an agreement that China is not in. These are hypothetical, speculative questions. They are serious ones, but I am not the Foreign Secretary and it is not for me to answer them. We have had multiple debates in the House about the economic challenge that China presents, as well as on many other issues relating to China, but it has not even joined the bloc. Throwing our weight about and saying who we would or would not block is not the right way to go about things. However, I am very happy to extend warm words about Taiwan. She will know that Government Members have done and said a lot to ensure that it continues to do well economically. It is not for me to go into specifics; it is best for me to be appropriate in the remarks that I make at the Dispatch Box on international diplomacy and foreign policy.

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

I very much welcome the agreement. As the Secretary of State knows, we have fantastic manufacturing industries in Stoke-on-Trent. In particular, our world-renowned ceramics industry has fantastic products that it is waiting to export. Will she detail the opportunities for these industries to export more of their fantastic wares around the world?