Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which other EU member states provide(a) paid and (b) unpaid parental leave; and if he will make a statement about paid parental leave. [108111]
§ Mr. Alan JohnsonFrom the information that we hold, it appears that some form of payment is provided in Italy, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany and Luxembourg during parental leave, subject to each member state's qualifying conditions.
There does not appear to be any universal provision for payment in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Ireland or the Netherlands.
We have introduced unpaid parental leave in line with the agreement concluded by the social partners and our commitment in the "Fairness at Work" White Paper. Our task now is to monitor the take-up, impact and effectiveness of the new right, which will help to inform future thinking on parental leave.