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Work and Families Bill

I am grateful for your guidance, Mr. Deputy Speaker. My point is that we Members are compensated for the cost of having a member of staff on maternity leave. The cost of replacement staff is paid by the Fees Office. People who run their own businesses are not compensated in that way and must incur an additional burden in paying for replacement workers. If the Minister is intent on rejecting the new clause, we will press it to a vote, but in any event I urge him to look again at the percentage repayment. As he has conceded, the 104.5 per cent. for small businesses does not compensate them for the administrative burden. When he intervened on my speech earlier, he accepted that they should be compensated. The Government ought to act according to their words, and increase the amount given back to employers.