Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 11th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Kate Dearden]

I thank my hon. Friend and those she mentions for their unwavering commitment to supporting parents—I was delighted to meet the Dad Shift recently. We are committed to improving the lives of working families. Alongside expanding access to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave, benefiting over 1 million more parents, we are strengthening flexible working rights and bolstering protections for new and expectant mothers. But more needs to be done. This year, we launched the parental leave and pay review to explore how the system can better support working families and reflect modern work and childcare realities. I look forward to working with her and hearing further from her constituents about the impact those changes could have for working people, especially those on lower incomes.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Minister very much for that helpful response. Many low-income workers often cannot afford unpaid or low-paid leave, so fathers feel obliged to return to work to receive full pay. What steps can the Government take to increase statutory paternity pay to match the reasonable proportion of wages across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?

[Kate Dearden]

The hon. Member will have heard my reference to a review. It will consider all forms of parental leave and pay, alongside current and future parental leave entitlements. I urge him to get involved in that process, and look forward to hearing from him as part of it.