Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by Pregnant Then Screwed entitled Leave in the Lurch, Paternity Leave, Gender Equality and the UK Economy, published on 15 June 2023; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the rate of Statutory Paternity Leave.

The Government has not made an assessment of this report. As set out in our Manifesto, the Government is committed to making it easier for father and partners to take Paternity Leave. In 2019, we also consulted on high-level options and principles for reforming the parental leave and pay system. We have analysed the responses to the consultation and will publish our response in due course.

The standard rate of Statutory Paternity Pay is reviewed annually. From April 2023, it increased by September's Consumer Price Index figure of 10.1 per cent to £172.48.