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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the Government's policy is on making shared parental pay and paternity pay a right for all employees from their first day of employment.

We have started the evaluation of the Shared Parental Leave and Pay schemes this year. This will look at the take up of leave and pay by fathers and partners, barriers to take-up, and how Shared Parental Leave and Pay are being used in practice. As a part of the same process of data collection, we will also gather information on the take up of paternity leave and pay.

The evaluation will improve the evidence base and inform future policy development in this area.