Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what progress he has made on the parental leave and pay review.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Review launched on 1 July 2025 and is exploring how the system can better support working families and reflect the realities of modern work and childcare, while balancing the needs of businesses and the Exchequer.
The Review is engaging with a broad range of stakeholders, including business groups, individual businesses, academics and parent groups, through roundtables and other engagement activity, alongside evaluating other sources of evidence.
The Review will conclude in early 2027 with a set of findings in which the Government will outline next steps for taking any potential reforms forward to implementation.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the hon. Member for Henley and Thame during oral questions on 15 October 2026, how much funding has been diverted to defence spending from the former Department for Science, Innovation and Technology budget; and which programmes have been impacted.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Departments have been asked to contribute 1p in every £1 of their capital budgets to help fund the Defence Investment Plan.
BIST is assessing how best to deliver this contribution while continuing to support key priorities, including for programmes previously delivered by the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology. Decisions regarding individual programmes are still being carefully considered, and further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what consideration he has given to the potential merits of allowing employees an entitlement of leave for attending family court proceedings.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
We recognise that individuals may need to attend court in a personal capacity and believe that employers and employees are often best placed to agree arrangements that reflect individual circumstances. Existing workplace arrangements, including annual leave, unpaid leave, and flexible working, can help employees manage personal commitments alongside their work responsibilities. We are making changes through the Employment Rights Act 2025 to make it more likely that flexible working requests are accepted. However, the Government has no current plans to introduce a statutory entitlement to leave for employees attending family court proceedings.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will publish milestones for the Parental Leave Review.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Review launched on 1 July 2025 and started with a period of discovery to understand the current system and gather evidence and views from stakeholders. We received almost 1,500 responses to the Call for Evidence. These are currently being analysed, and the findings will inform the Review. We are continuing to engage with stakeholders (including business groups, parent groups, and academics) throughout 2026 to inform the Review.
The Review will conclude in early 2027 with a set of findings in which the Government will outline next steps for taking any reforms forward to implementation.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making statutory bereavement leave paid.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The loss of a loved one is one of the hardest things a person can experience. This is why we have introduced a new right to bereavement leave in the Employment Rights Act which will be available to those grieving the loss of a loved one, including pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
The Act deals with the introduction of leave only, and we are consulting further on the detail of the entitlement to ensure it supports employees while remaining proportionate for employers. It will remain at employers' discretion to offer pay, as many already do.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the report by the Chartered Management Institute entitled The CMI Managers Voice September 2024: Managers Voice Pulse Point Poll, published in September 2024.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government has not made a specific assessment of the implications of the report for the upcoming bereavement leave entitlement.
Due to the sensitive nature of bereavement leave we are currently consulting on details of the final entitlement, engaging with key stakeholders to make sure bereavement leave is constructed with the needs of both employers and employees at the forefront.
An impact assessment of the policy has been conducted, which covers the impact on businesses and workers. This is available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the impact of leaving the EU single market on graduate employment opportunities.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The government is committed to ensuring graduates have the skills and support needed to succeed in the modern economy, which is why the Industrial Strategy will provide an additional £1.2bn of investment in the skills system by 2028-29.
The Department for Work and Pensions has an established network of partnerships to enhance graduate employment opportunities. DWP are reforming Jobcentre Plus to create a new, more personalised employment support service across Great Britain to recognise that individuals - including graduates - have different needs.
However, the Department for Business and Trade has made no specific assessment of the impact of leaving the EU single market on graduate employment opportunities.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to encourage bereavement leave uptake among (a) shift workers and (b) carers.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Employment Rights Bill will introduce a new right to Bereavement Leave for those grieving the loss of a loved one or a pregnancy.
A consultation was launched on 23rd October, and was widely shared. We will invite a range of groups, including business, charities, trade unions and others who represent caregivers and shift workers to roundtables to discuss the questions raised by the consultation and how the entitlement can best be constructed to meet the needs of those they represent.
This approach will ensure the entitlement is constructed with the needs of employees and employers at the forefront.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make it his policy to adopt the recommendations of the Women and Equalities Committee's Sixth Report of Session 2024-25 entitled Equality at work: Paternity and shared parental leave, HC 502.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government thanks the committee for its careful consideration of Shared Parental Leave and Paternity Leave and has responded in full to the report. We recognise that more can be done to ensure working families are better supported. That is why on 1 July 2025 we launched the parental leave and pay review, which will consider all current and upcoming parental leave and pay entitlements. The recommendations and evidence outlined in the Women and Equality Committee’s report are important contributions to the review and we look forward to working with the committee as the thinking develops.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to page 2 of his Department's publication entitled General terms for the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Economic Prosperity Deal, how he will allocate the 100,000 vehicle quota among companies.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The United States as part of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal, has created a quota of 100,000 vehicles for UK automotive imports at a 10 percent tariff rate, down from 27.5% We have been engaging with industry to seek their views on how we can ensure that the quota works for industry as a whole. The quota has been implemented today, 30 June, by the US and came into effect at 00:01 US Eastern time.