Speeches

Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of the right to statutory paternity leave.

Nick Boles

The Government provides comprehensive guidance on statutory paternity leave and pay on the GOV.UK website.

The right to take paternity leave is now well established. The latest information from the Maternity and Paternity Rights Survey undertaken in 2009-10 suggests that 91% of fathers take some time off after their babies’ birth.

The Coalition Government undertook a campaign to raise awareness of the introduction of Shared Parental Leave, which came into force on 1 December 2014 for parents of children due (or placed for adoption) on or after 5 April 2015. Shared Parental Leave enables fathers to play a greater role in raising their child and enables mothers to return to work at a time that is right for them.