Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many employed mothers of babies who were admitted to neonatal care used their full 52 weeks of maternity leave entitlement in each of the last five years.

The Government does not routinely collect data on the length of maternity leave taken by employed mothers of babies who were admitted to neonatal care. The most recent data on the length of maternity leave taken by all mothers is from the Maternity and Paternity Rights Survey in 2009, which collected data from parents of children born in 2008 across Great Britain.

This shows that in 2008, 23% of all employed mothers took 52 weeks of Statutory Maternity Leave or more (e.g. by taking annual leave in addition).

We are currently undertaking a new survey of parents which will provide updated information on family-related leave and pay entitlements, including the length of Maternity Leave taken by mothers in general. Mothers who gave birth prematurely or whose babies were admitted to neonatal care are within the scope of this survey, but it may not be possible to identify them, nor to draw conclusions given that they will represent only a small number of respondents.