Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with his Ministerial colleagues on the creation of a new bank holiday on 11 November to honour the armed forces.

The Government regularly receives requests for additional bank and public holidays to celebrate a variety of occasions. We have had many suggestions for the creation of a bank holiday after Remembrance Sunday, to celebrate the contribution of the armed forces. We fully understand the support for the idea, as our armed forces do a tremendous job and sadly some make the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

We believe however that Remembrance Sunday is the most fitting way to commemorate our armed forces, and so we have no plans to observe their achievements and their great sacrifices by means of a new bank holiday.

We also have to bear in mind the costs of additional bank holidays. The most recent assessment for the Diamond Jubilee is that a bank holiday across the whole of the UK costs employers around £1.2bn.