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My Lords, what response has the Department for Education given to the 130 early years experts and educators who wrote to the Secretary of State in September raising concerns about the digital reception baseline assessment, including that it is inconsistent with the guidance on early years screen time, which the Government have already developed and are building on with their work for over-fives now?
My Lords, what response has the Department for Education given to the 130 early years experts and educators who wrote to the Secretary of State in September raising concerns about the digital reception baseline assessment, including that it is inconsistent with the guidance on early years screen time, which the Government have already developed and are building on with their work for over-fives now?
My Lords, I add my support for Amendment 54, from the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig of Radley, on removing fees for indefinite leave to remain for families of serving personnel and veterans with a minimum period of service. As the noble and gallant Lord said, families have waited...
My Lords, I add my support for Amendment 54, from the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig of Radley, on removing fees for indefinite leave to remain for families of serving personnel and veterans with a minimum period of service. As the noble and gallant Lord said, families have waited...
My Lords, I rise briefly to support my noble friend Lord Harlech in Amendments 42 and 43. He has again brought before the Committee sensible, pragmatic amendments that surely must be addressed if we want reservists to continue to play a growing role in our Armed Forces. Refusal of employment,
notus-xml...
My Lords, I rise briefly to support my noble friend Lord Harlech in Amendments 42 and 43. He has again brought before the Committee sensible, pragmatic amendments that surely must be addressed if we want reservists to continue to play a growing role in our Armed Forces. Refusal of employment,
notus-xml...
My Lords, I support Amendment 56 from the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig of Radley, which would waive fees for indefinite leave to remain applications for spouses and immediate family members of serving personnel and veterans. I have tabled Amendment 66, which seeks to achieve the same outcome through...
My Lords, I support Amendment 56 from the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig of Radley, which would waive fees for indefinite leave to remain applications for spouses and immediate family members of serving personnel and veterans. I have tabled Amendment 66, which seeks to achieve the same outcome through...
My Lords, I am grateful to the Economic Affairs Committee for this report. It reminds us that an ageing society is not simply about older people, it is about how we structure our whole lives and how that may need to change in future. I will touch on two points;...
My Lords, I am grateful to the Economic Affairs Committee for this report. It reminds us that an ageing society is not simply about older people, it is about how we structure our whole lives and how that may need to change in future. I will touch on two points;...
My Lords, it is a real pleasure to follow the right reverend Prelate. This is my first contribution in this House on the matter of defence. The reasons it has come now are twofold.
The first reason is the time we are living through. In my time in government, in the...
My Lords, it is a real pleasure to follow the right reverend Prelate. This is my first contribution in this House on the matter of defence. The reasons it has come now are twofold.
The first reason is the time we are living through. In my time in government, in the...
My Lords, I will speak very briefly to Amendment 140 on transition plans and Amendment 172 on forest risk commodities, to which I have added my name. On transition plans, I do not think it is really an interest to declare, but a reason I signed that amendment is that...
My Lords, I will speak very briefly to Amendment 140 on transition plans and Amendment 172 on forest risk commodities, to which I have added my name. On transition plans, I do not think it is really an interest to declare, but a reason I signed that amendment is that...
My Lords, why do the Government need another review to tell us what is obvious: that excluding nearly one in four fathers from our system of paternity pay is unfair and needs fixing? Becoming a new father can be stressful and expensive, as well as wonderful and joyous. But if the Government are committed to supporting families now with the cost of living, can the Minister commit to closing this loophole in 2026, not in another year’s time?
My Lords, why do the Government need another review to tell us what is obvious: that excluding nearly one in four fathers from our system of paternity pay is unfair and needs fixing? Becoming a new father can be stressful and expensive, as well as wonderful and joyous. But if the Government are committed to supporting families now with the cost of living, can the Minister commit to closing this loophole in 2026, not in another year’s time?
I thank the noble Baroness for her advocacy for the importance of paternity leave and parental rights. We have already delivered real change through the Employment Rights Act. On 6 April, paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights. Alongside these changes, we are undertaking this comprehensive review of the system to consider whether further reforms are required. We have engaged with a broad range of stakeholders, alongside evaluating other sources of evidence. We have received almost 1,500 responses to the call for evidence, and it is important that we consider these carefully before deciding what further reforms are required.
Does the Minister recognise that the lack of proper pay is the number one reason for a lack of take-up of existing rights? Will she confirm whether the new day one right to paternity leave is for paid or unpaid leave?
Does the Minister recognise that the lack of proper pay is the number one reason for a lack of take-up of existing rights? Will she confirm whether the new day one right to paternity leave is for paid or unpaid leave?
The paternity review will look at whether we should extend the current entitlement for qualifying employees under the new rights that have come in, which for qualifying employees is two weeks’ leave paid at the statutory rate. The parental leave and pay review is considering whether this entitlement is sufficient.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to provide paternity leave to the self-employed.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to provide paternity leave to the self-employed.
The Government are undertaking a review of parental leave and pay, which presents a much-needed opportunity to consider our approach to the system and whether the support available meets the needs of modern working families, including the self-employed. The review will conclude in early 2027 with a set of findings in which the Government will outline next steps for taking any potential reforms forward to implementation.
My Lords, following the noble Baroness, Lady O’Grady, I too want to focus on the theme from yesterday’s gracious Speech as being one of security—defence security, energy security and economic security. I will resist the temptation to make a joke about job security, particularly as I believe the Health Secretary...
My Lords, following the noble Baroness, Lady O’Grady, I too want to focus on the theme from yesterday’s gracious Speech as being one of security—defence security, energy security and economic security. I will resist the temptation to make a joke about job security, particularly as I believe the Health Secretary...
My Lords, I, too, welcome the Bill. I do not think it is acceptable that we ask Ministers to do their work unpaid, a burden that has fallen disproportionately on Members of this House. As we have heard, former Leaders on these Benches have worked hard to change that, but,...
My Lords, I, too, welcome the Bill. I do not think it is acceptable that we ask Ministers to do their work unpaid, a burden that has fallen disproportionately on Members of this House. As we have heard, former Leaders on these Benches have worked hard to change that, but,...
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for the Childhood in the Age of AI event on 20-22 April, including (1) who will be attending the summit; (2) what age ranges and topics it will address; and (3) whether it will include discussion of early years.
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for the Childhood in the Age of AI event on 20-22 April, including (1) who will be attending the summit; (2) what age ranges and topics it will address; and (3) whether it will include discussion of early years.
The ‘Childhood in the Age of AI’ summit will be attended by a diverse group of representatives from civil society, industry, government and representatives of young people. It will address the impacts of AI on children and young people across a wide range of domains, such as education, wellbeing, development and safety. The discussions will not be restricted to any age group.
This work forms part of the government’s work to hear directly from parents and young people across the UK through our National Conversation children’s and young people’s wellbeing online.
To ask His Majesty's Government what the breakdown is of the uptake of neonatal care leave and pay by (1) mothers, and (2) fathers, since 6 April 2025.
To ask His Majesty's Government what the breakdown is of the uptake of neonatal care leave and pay by (1) mothers, and (2) fathers, since 6 April 2025.
Parents cannot receive more than one statutory payment at the same time, meaning Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP) is often taken at the end of Statutory Maternity Pay and Statutory Paternity Pay. As mothers can receive up to 39 weeks of maternity pay, and SNCP was introduced from April last year, many eligible mothers will have been in receipt of maternity pay at the point the data was extracted and may not yet have claimed SNCP.
SNCP Claims in Tax Year 2025-26 | |
Gender | Cases |
Female | 200 |
Male | 1600 |
Notes:
1) Data collected using HMRC Real Time Information (RTI) and extracted in December 2025. RTI is subject to revision or updates.
2) Cases have been rounded to nearest 100.
3) Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.
To ask His Majesty's Government what the average length of neonatal care leave has been since 6 April 2025; and whether they will publish a breakdown of the number of parents taking neonatal care leave for each individual week of entitlement.
To ask His Majesty's Government what the average length of neonatal care leave has been since 6 April 2025; and whether they will publish a breakdown of the number of parents taking neonatal care leave for each individual week of entitlement.
HMRC does not receive data on exact claim duration. However, it is possible to estimate the duration of a claim based on total amounts of Statutory Neonatal Care Pay claimed. The average length of a claim is currently estimated at 2.3 weeks. The distribution of this is shown in the table below:
SNCP Claims in Tax Year 2025-26 | |
Estimated Claim Duration | Cases |
1 week | 800 |
2 weeks | 500 |
3 weeks | 200 |
4 weeks | 200 |
5 weeks | 100 |
6 weeks | 100 |
Notes:
1) Data collected using HMRC Real Time Information (RTI) and extracted in December 2025. RTI is subject to revision or updates.
2) Cases have been rounded to nearest 100.
To ask His Majesty's Government how many parents have (1) taken neonatal care leave, (2) received neonatal care pay, and (3) received both neonatal care leave and pay, since the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 came into force on 6 April 2025.
To ask His Majesty's Government how many parents have (1) taken neonatal care leave, (2) received neonatal care pay, and (3) received both neonatal care leave and pay, since the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 came into force on 6 April 2025.
HMRC does not hold information on (1) the number of parents that have taken Neonatal Care Leave and (3) the number of parents that have received both Neonatal Care Leave and Pay.
HMRC does hold data on Statutory Neonatal Care Pay provided by Real Time Information, HMRC’s database that holds Pay as You Earn information relating to employees. Using data from April-December 2025, an estimated 1,900 individuals were in receipt of Statutory Neonatal Care Pay. This data was extracted from HMRC’s Real-Time Information in January 2026 and is subject to revision or updates.
My Lords, a key part of this mission is focused on the first 1,001 critical days of a child’s life. Evidence shows that having a father involved at this time supports the child’s future social and emotional development, as well as their future academic outcomes. Our current system of parental leave offers no support for self-employed fathers, meaning that only one in six takes any time off at all when their child is born. This contributes to the motherhood penalty. What are the Government going to do about this?
My Lords, a key part of this mission is focused on the first 1,001 critical days of a child’s life. Evidence shows that having a father involved at this time supports the child’s future social and emotional development, as well as their future academic outcomes. Our current system of parental leave offers no support for self-employed fathers, meaning that only one in six takes any time off at all when their child is born. This contributes to the motherhood penalty. What are the Government going to do about this?
The noble Baroness is absolutely right about the importance of the involvement of anyone who is in a parental position. Involvement starts before birth, in helping to prepare both parents for the huge changes that are about to happen. This is one of the factors that we will look into, to make sure that we create more opportunities where we can. I am not sure why men choose not to take up their parental leave offer, but I am happy to talk to the noble Baroness afterwards if I have misunderstood the tenor of her question.
My Lords, I will speak in support of Amendment 218A. Before I do so, on Amendment 212, the noble Lord, Lord Sharkey, made a valiant attempt to square the circle of opposing
some forms of mandation while supporting others, but it did not quite get me over the line. So...
My Lords, I will speak in support of Amendment 218A. Before I do so, on Amendment 212, the noble Lord, Lord Sharkey, made a valiant attempt to square the circle of opposing
some forms of mandation while supporting others, but it did not quite get me over the line. So...
To ask His Majesty's Government what the membership is of the early years screen time advisory group.
To ask His Majesty's Government what the membership is of the early years screen time advisory group.
The early years screen time advisory group is comprised of the following members:
- Professor Russell Viner (co-chair) – Professor in Adolescent Health, University College London, and former Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department for Education.
- Dame Rachel de Souza (co-chair) – Children’s Commissioner for England.
- Professor Catherine Davies – Professor of Language Development, University of Leeds.
- Professor Pasco Fearon – Professor of Family Research, University of Cambridge.
- Professor Rosie Flewitt – Emeritus Professor of Early Childhood Communication, Manchester Metropolitan University.
- Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy – Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England.
- Professor Sonia Livingstone – Professor of Social Psychology, London School of Economics and Political Science.
- Professor Amy Orben – Programme Leader of the Digital Mental Health Research Programme, University of Cambridge.
- Professor Paul Ramchandani – LEGO Professor of Play in Education, Development and Learning, University of Cambridge.
- Professor Kathy Sylva – Honorary Research Fellow and Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Oxford.
All members of the group attended the first meeting of the early years screen time advisory group on 22 January, alongside officials from the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England.
This introductory meeting focused on agreeing ways of working, including delivery timelines and approaches to evidence gathering, and the scope of the early years screen time guidance. The group also discussed the dissemination of the guidance.
Minutes of the meeting will be published in due course.
To ask His Majesty's Government who attended the first meeting of the early years screen time advisory group on 22 January; and what was discussed in that meeting.
To ask His Majesty's Government who attended the first meeting of the early years screen time advisory group on 22 January; and what was discussed in that meeting.
The early years screen time advisory group is comprised of the following members:
- Professor Russell Viner (co-chair) – Professor in Adolescent Health, University College London, and former Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department for Education.
- Dame Rachel de Souza (co-chair) – Children’s Commissioner for England.
- Professor Catherine Davies – Professor of Language Development, University of Leeds.
- Professor Pasco Fearon – Professor of Family Research, University of Cambridge.
- Professor Rosie Flewitt – Emeritus Professor of Early Childhood Communication, Manchester Metropolitan University.
- Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy – Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England.
- Professor Sonia Livingstone – Professor of Social Psychology, London School of Economics and Political Science.
- Professor Amy Orben – Programme Leader of the Digital Mental Health Research Programme, University of Cambridge.
- Professor Paul Ramchandani – LEGO Professor of Play in Education, Development and Learning, University of Cambridge.
- Professor Kathy Sylva – Honorary Research Fellow and Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Oxford.
All members of the group attended the first meeting of the early years screen time advisory group on 22 January, alongside officials from the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England.
This introductory meeting focused on agreeing ways of working, including delivery timelines and approaches to evidence gathering, and the scope of the early years screen time guidance. The group also discussed the dissemination of the guidance.
Minutes of the meeting will be published in due course.