Parental Leave Review Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Business and Trade
David Baines
Main Page: David Baines (Labour - St Helens North)Department Debates - View all David Baines's debates with the Department for Business and Trade
(2 days, 6 hours ago)
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Justin Madders
As always, it is a pleasure to hear from the hon. Gentleman. He raises an important point about how the current shared parental leave system is not working. We have seen that the percentage of people taking advantage of that is in the low single figures. We are aware of that and will be looking at it closely as part of the review.
David Baines (St Helens North) (Lab)
I warmly welcome the review, as I know will families and dads in St Helens North. I am also sure that Jay White, who runs the Dad Matters organisation in St Helens, which supports new dads and is doing a great job, will warmly welcome it as well. With dads across the country and, as we have already heard, across the Chamber, I have been supporting The Dad Shift campaign, saying that two weeks are not enough. I know from personal experience, and from speaking to dads across St Helens, that it is not enough. Will the Minister confirm for the benefit of dads in St Helens North and elsewhere that the current state of paternity leave, including consultation with employers, will be a key focus for the review?