§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made for(a) small and medium enterprises and (b) larger companies of the extra number of employees who will receive maternity leave as a result of the reduction in the minimum employment period for eligibility to one year. [76673]
§ Mr. Byers[holding answer 16 March 1999]: The Regulatory Impact Assessment which was published alongside the Employment Relations Bill estimates that 23,000 mothers will take more maternity leave as a result of this change. The data are not broken down by size or firm.