§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many men(a) requested and (b) received paternity pay prior to 6 April 2003 in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) region and (ii) income. [1712976]
§ Mr. SutcliffeStatutory Paternity Pay was introduced in 2003 for fathers of children born or expected to be born on or after 6 April 2003 and adopters of children placed for adoption on or after 6 April 2003. Statutory Paternity Pay was therefore not paid before 6 April 2003, except to a small number of fathers whose children were born prematurely.
Some employers will, of course have offered contractual paternity leave and pay to their staff before April 2003. Contractual provision is not recorded centrally but surveys suggest that where this provision was available fathers used it.
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many men took(a) parental leave and (b) time off for dependants in each year since 1997 prior to 6 April 2003, broken down by (i) region (ii) income and (iii) length of leave. [171295]
§ Mr. SutcliffeIt is not possible to provide the information requested since take up of parental leave and time off for dependants are not recorded centrally. However, a recent survey commissioned by the DTI (The Second Work-life Balance Survey: Results from the Employees' Survey, Employment Relations Research Series No. 27) suggests that 4 per cent. of all parents with dependant children took parental leave in the year preceding the survey.
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many women have taken(a) ordinary maternity leave and (b) additional maternity leave (i) in each year since 1997 up until April 2003 and (ii) since April 2003, and how many women have taken 52 weeks maternity leave, broken down by region. [171301]
§ Mr. SutcliffeTake-up of maternity leave is not recorded centrally, and the regional figures cannot be provided. It is possible to make an estimate of the432W numbers of mothers taking ordinary maternity leave based on employer returns to Inland Revenue for payment of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) they recover. Nationally around 300,000 women receive SMP each year. Some of the women will take additional maternity leave, but as SMP is not paid during additional maternity leave, it is not possible to estimate the number taking additional maternity leave.
In addition, there will be some women who will qualify for maternity leave but not SMP (because they do not meet the earnings criteria) and similarly some who qualify for SMP but not leave (because they are employed earners for the purposes of SMP but not employees in order to qualify for leave).