Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the parental leave review on the gender pay gap.

On 1 July, the Government launched the Parental Leave Review, fulfilling its manifesto commitment.

As set out in the terms of reference, the review is scheduled finish roughly 18 months after launch which will be around January 2027.

The Department has not made an assessment on the potential impact of the Review on the gender pay gap at this stage. However the Review’s Terms of Reference set out that one of our objectives for the parental leave and pay system is to support economic growth through labour market participation, including tackling the gender pay gap and motherhood penalty.