Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will set an implementation date prior to 2025 of the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill.

We are committed to introducing Neonatal Care Leave and Pay as quickly as possible. Work is ongoing across Government to deliver these new entitlements.

Delivery requires updates to HMRC IT systems and parliamentary consideration of a significant amount of secondary legislation, which will take approximately 18 months.

It is also necessary to align the ‘go live’ date with the start of a tax year. This means April 2025 is the earliest date for the introduction of Neonatal Care Leave and Pay.