Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that expectant fathers may attend all antenatal appointments.

Since October 2014, expectant fathers and partners of pregnant woman have been able to take time off work to attend up to two antenatal appointments with their partner. This is a ‘day 1’ right which means that fathers and partners will be eligible for time off work even if they have recently changed jobs.

We recognise that restrictions in place due to the pandemic have made it difficult for some fathers and partners to accompany expectant mothers to antenatal appointments. On 5 June, the NHS’s suspension on hospital visiting was lifted. Since then, NHS Trusts have been using guidance published by NHS England and NHS Improvement when exercising their discretion on whether or not to allow fathers/partners to accompany their partner to antenatal appointments.

On 14 December, NHS England and NHS Improvement issued new guidance on supporting pregnant women using maternity services during the coronavirus pandemic. It sets out the expectation for all NHS maternity services to take steps to enable women to have access to support from a person of her choosing at all stages of her maternity journey and to prevent and control COVID-19 infection and keep women and staff safe.