Business of the House

Patricia Gibson Excerpts

Thursday 6th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am going to come back to the jury system in, I hope, giving some reassurance to my hon. Friend, because it is an ancient right and a great protector of freedom. That does not mean that every decision made by every jury is one that is welcomed by some people in some circumstances, but it is such an important protector of our liberties that we must take the rough with the smooth.

[Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)]

On 18 March, my private Member’s Bill on statutory paid bereavement leave for all who lose a close family member will be before this House. It builds on the excellent Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018, which came into effect in 2020. Estimates show that grief costs the UK economy £23 billion per year and the Treasury £8 billion in lost revenues. Indeed, without the space to grieve, some drop out of the workforce altogether. A statutory paid right for all workers to have the time to grieve will produce a more productive and resilient workforce with a greater sense of wellbeing. So will the Leader of the House make a statement setting out whether he will support my Bill for statutory paid bereavement leave for all—the Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill—as many across the House already do?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I thank the hon. Lady for the approach she is taking to this. I cannot on Thursday mornings give off-the-cuff commitments to private Members’ Bills, but I think I can say that the way Members get those Bills adopted is, as the hon. Lady has down, by courteously campaigning for them and building up a head of steam of support. Some private Members’ Bills that start with remarkably little Government support end up getting on the statute book because of the effectiveness of a Back-Bench campaigner.