Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the costs and benefits of paid paternity leave, with reference to the comparative costs and benefits in European countries with a higher level of take-up, including Germany and Spain.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government is considering a range of evidence on the costs and benefits of parental leave and pay as part of the ongoing Parental Leave and Pay Review. This includes evidence from other countries, including European countries such as Germany and Spain, which have different parental leave and pay systems and higher levels of fathers’ leave take-up.
The costs and benefits of paid paternity leave depend on the design of the entitlement, including its duration, payment rate and take-up. The Government has not yet reached conclusions on potential reforms. The Review is expected to report in early 2027, setting out next steps for taking forward any reforms to implementation.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
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 prevent non-disclosure agreements from being used to conceal serious misconduct against former employees.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has been clear that non-disclosure agreements should not be misused by employers to conceal misconduct in the workplace. There are already legal limitations as to what NDAs can be used for, meaning the relevant clause would be unenforceable if it attempted to prevent a worker from whistleblowing, require a worker to cover up iniquity, or prevent a worker from doing anything that they may be required to do by law. We continue to look at how to make improvements to ensuring the misuse of NDAs is not used to conceal misconduct in the workplace.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will publish a list of the countries from which the coking coal required for the Scunthorpe blast furnaces will be purchased; and if he will publish the estimate of the carbon footprint which will be created by transporting the required total from each source country.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
British Steel closed its coke ovens in 2023, so is now reliant on imports of coke, a processed coal product. Since the passage of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, British Steel has received coking coal from the United States of America, Colombia, and Australia. The company will keep its supply chains under review.
The Department for Business & Trade has not produced an assessment of the carbon footprint from the transportation of the coking coal required for the blast furnaces. However, the carbon footprint associated with transporting the coking coal to the UK can be calculated using publicly available data [such as the CarbonCare CO2 emissions calculator].