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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will conduct an impact assessment of the potential effects of extending statutory maternity and paternity leave for parents with ill or premature babies.

The Government has recently announced a consultation on parental leave and pay entitlements. This included a proposal for Neonatal Leave and Pay, a new entitlement for parents of babies who require neonatal care following birth, as a result of being born prematurely or sick.

The consultation itself includes a high-level summary of the costs associated with the policy proposal. In addition, we will prepare an impact assessment and will publish this in due course.