Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2023 to Question 5143 on Baby Care Units: Parental Leave, what her planned timetable is for bringing forward the remaining statutory instruments under the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are committed to introducing Neonatal Care Leave and Pay as quickly as possible and work is ongoing across Government to deliver these new entitlements by April 2025, subject to parliamentary scheduling.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what dual serving parent provisions the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force offers to serving personnel.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has a range of policies designed to support relationships where both partners are serving members of the Armed Forces.
These include a number of Joint Service Publications (JSP), which, for example, set out eligibility for the occupation of Service Family Accommodation at a mid-way point between two different duty stations (JSP 464), provide Flexible Working and Flexible Service options to allow for changes in type of engagement and variation in working patterns to assist with family responsibilities (JSP 760), and gives options for the transfer of annual leave between partners and shared parental leave (JSP 760). These are supplemented by other single Service specific policies, as well as a Tri-Service Service Couples Network which acts as a forum to exchange information and advice.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leicester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of new fathers have taken (1) their full statutory paternity leave entitlement, and (2) shared parental leave, in each year since 2017.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Data on the proportion of fathers taking Paternity and Shared Parental Leave is not available for each year since 2017. The 2019 Parental Rights Survey shows that, of all employee fathers who took any type of leave following the birth of their child, 74 per cent took Paternity Leave and 7 per cent took Shared Parental Leave. The same survey finds that 76 per cent of all fathers that took Paternity Leave took up their full Paternity Leave entitlement.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the five recommendations made in the report by the First 1001 Days Movement, A Manifesto for Babies, published on 19 March; and whether they intend to respond to each recommendation.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is strong evidence that the 1,001 days from pregnancy to the age of two years old set the foundations for our cognitive, emotional, and physical development. Investing in this critical period presents a real opportunity to improve outcomes and tackle health disparities by ensuring that thousands of babies and families have improved access to quality support and services. The Government is therefore already taking forward a range of actions in line with recommendations in the report by the First 1001 Days Movement to ensure that every baby gets the best start in life.
For example, in March 2021, the Government published The best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days, a copy of which is attached. This vision sets out six action areas for improving support for families during the 1,001 critical days to ensure every baby in England is given the best possible start in life, regardless of background.
The Government is also investing approximately £300 million to improve support for families though the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. The programme is implementing many elements of the Best Start for Life Vision and is delivering a step change in outcomes for babies, children and their parents and carers in 75 local authorities in England, including those with high levels of deprivation. Many local authorities without funding have also chosen to implement elements of the vision.
The programme funding package includes £10 million to enable five local authorities and their partners to pilot innovative early years workforce models, with the aim of improving the access, experience and outcomes of babies, children, and families, and supporting the capacity and job satisfaction of the workforces involved.
To support new parents, Statutory Maternity Pay is paid by employers to qualifying employed women for a maximum of 39 weeks, the first six weeks of which are paid at 90% of the women’s salary followed by 33 weeks at the lower of either the standard rate or 90% of the woman’s average weekly earnings. For those who cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay, Maternity Allowance may be available. This is a benefit paid by the Department for Work and Pensions to eligible women and is intended for those who cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay. The standard rate of maternity pay is reviewed annually.
Paternity Leave arrangements enable employed fathers and partners, including same sex partners, who meet the qualifying conditions to take up to two weeks of paid leave within the first eight weeks following the birth of their child or placement for adoption. The Government has recently announced changes to make Paternity Leave and Pay more flexible for working families from April 2024. This includes allowing fathers and partners to take their leave and pay at any point in the first year after the birth or adoption of their child.
A Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme is also available, giving working families much more choice and flexibility about who cares for their child in the first year, and when.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the impact of having to visit (a) children and (b) babies in hospital out of area on low income families.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There are a number of financial support schemes available to support low-income families, so that they can in turn support their children or babies while they are in hospital. These include: the NHS Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme, which offers financial support to eligible parents and carers to enable them to make the journey to hospital while their baby or child is being cared for; the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023, which is due to provide qualifying new parents with a right to 12 weeks’ leave and pay when their baby requires neonatal care, in addition to existing parental leave entitlements, to help address the financial barriers faced by families; and the Sure Start Maternity Grant, which aims to help low-income families meet the wider costs of having a new baby.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, which industries experience the highest (a) loss and (b) retention of female staff after maternity leave.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The 2019 Parental Rights Survey shows that over a fifth (22%) of mothers reported not returning to work or starting another job following birth. Mothers working in ‘Hospitality’ (38%) and ‘Wholesale and Retail’ (27%) sectors were more likely to report they did not return or start another job than mothers in ‘Public Administration, Health and Education’ (15%).[1]
Over half (54%) of all mothers returned to the same job following birth. Mothers working in ‘Public Administration, Health and Education’ were more likely (63%) to report returning to the same job than those in ‘Business, Professional Services, Leisure and Other Services’ (50%) and ‘Hospitality’ industries (35%)[2].
1, [2] The sectors reported represent those where there are statistically significant differences from the total.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what she is taking to help ensure that new parents are able to take the (a) maternity and (b) paternity leave that they are entitled to in the context of the rising cost of living.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK has a generous system of parental leave and pay entitlements which include Maternity and Paternity Leave and Pay.
The standard rate of Statutory Maternity Pay and Paternity Pay is reviewed annually. Subject to parliamentary approval, from April 2024, it will increase by 6.7% from £172.48 to £184.03.
Statutory parental payments are designed to offer a degree of earnings replacement and have never been intended to fully replace lost earnings. The Government also has provisions in place such as tax credits, child benefit and Universal Credit, which provide support with the cost of raising children.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average repayment period for graduates to repay their tuition fee student loans is.
Answered by Robert Halfon
As education is a devolved issue, the following answers concern the student finance system in England only. The student finance systems of the devolved administrations differ from that of England.
The point at which a borrower becomes liable to begin repaying a student loan is known as the Statutory Repayment Due Date (SRDD); this is normally the start of the tax year (6 April) after graduating or otherwise leaving their course. After the SRDD, borrowers are required to make repayments if their income is above the repayment threshold. The forecast average loan balances of borrowers on their SRDD is published at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england/2022-23.
Borrowers starting their studies in the 2023/24 academic year will take out loans under different repayment terms, known as Plan 5, to those starting in the 2022/23 academic year who repay under Plan 2. Loan balances at SRDD for Plan 2 borrowers are higher due to being charged an interest rate above inflation during their studies.
The student loan repayment earning thresholds differ between the loan plan types and are published here: https://www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan/what-you-pay.
Borrower earnings paths are complex. Some borrowers will have earnings which reach or exceed the repayment threshold for their plan type, others will not; some borrowers will, on multiple occasions, reach or exceed the threshold in one pay period and then fall below it the next. Unemployment, career breaks, parental leave, sick leave, and the undertaking of further study are all common life events that may drop earnings below the repayment threshold for a period of time. The cost of modelling and analysis required to answer the question would breach the disproportionate cost limit.
The average repayment period of student finance borrowers in England is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england/2022-23.
Borrowers starting their studies in the 2023/24 academic year will take out loans under different repayment terms, known as Plan 5, to those starting in the 2022/23 academic year who repay under Plan 2. Plan 5 borrowers have longer maximum repayment periods of 40 years than Plan 2 borrowers with maximum repayment periods of 30 years. Less than 50% of plan 2 borrowers are expected to fully repay their loans, and so the median repayment period is the plan 2 maximum of 30 years. Many more Plan 5 borrowers are expected to fully repay their loans. The median repayment period for the 2023/24 cohort is forecasted to be 31 years, within the Plan 5 maximum of 40 years.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average student loan debt once graduates reach the threshold for repayment is.
Answered by Robert Halfon
As education is a devolved issue, the following answers concern the student finance system in England only. The student finance systems of the devolved administrations differ from that of England.
The point at which a borrower becomes liable to begin repaying a student loan is known as the Statutory Repayment Due Date (SRDD); this is normally the start of the tax year (6 April) after graduating or otherwise leaving their course. After the SRDD, borrowers are required to make repayments if their income is above the repayment threshold. The forecast average loan balances of borrowers on their SRDD is published at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england/2022-23.
Borrowers starting their studies in the 2023/24 academic year will take out loans under different repayment terms, known as Plan 5, to those starting in the 2022/23 academic year who repay under Plan 2. Loan balances at SRDD for Plan 2 borrowers are higher due to being charged an interest rate above inflation during their studies.
The student loan repayment earning thresholds differ between the loan plan types and are published here: https://www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan/what-you-pay.
Borrower earnings paths are complex. Some borrowers will have earnings which reach or exceed the repayment threshold for their plan type, others will not; some borrowers will, on multiple occasions, reach or exceed the threshold in one pay period and then fall below it the next. Unemployment, career breaks, parental leave, sick leave, and the undertaking of further study are all common life events that may drop earnings below the repayment threshold for a period of time. The cost of modelling and analysis required to answer the question would breach the disproportionate cost limit.
The average repayment period of student finance borrowers in England is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england/2022-23.
Borrowers starting their studies in the 2023/24 academic year will take out loans under different repayment terms, known as Plan 5, to those starting in the 2022/23 academic year who repay under Plan 2. Plan 5 borrowers have longer maximum repayment periods of 40 years than Plan 2 borrowers with maximum repayment periods of 30 years. Less than 50% of plan 2 borrowers are expected to fully repay their loans, and so the median repayment period is the plan 2 maximum of 30 years. Many more Plan 5 borrowers are expected to fully repay their loans. The median repayment period for the 2023/24 cohort is forecasted to be 31 years, within the Plan 5 maximum of 40 years.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has plans to increase the amount of statutory paid leave to parents who lose a child under the age of 18 are entitled to.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises that the death of a child is a tragic event. In April 2020, we introduced a new statutory entitlement to up to two weeks’ Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay for parents who lose a child under the age of 18.
The Government has no plans to increase this amount of statutory paid leave, but we strongly encourage employers to act with compassion and go beyond the statutory minimum when they are able to.