Written questions by Baldwin.

Whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

My Department is not an employer in its own right and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) provides the Wales Office with employment services and HR policies, such as Shared Parental Leave. The Civil Service Management Code states that, ‘Departments and agencies may only grant shared parental leave in accordance with the statutory requirements governing eligibility for this category of leave.’ Some staff could qualify for statutory shared parental leave on their first day of service because they already have service with another department. As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.

Whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

No. The Civil Service Management Code states that, ‘Departments and agencies may only grant shared parental leave in accordance with the statutory requirements governing eligibility for this category of leave.’ However, some staff could qualify for statutory shared parental leave on their first day of service with a particular department because they already have service with another department.As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.It may be helpful to explain that the Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. All staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other Government bodies, principally the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice, who remain the employers and determine the terms and conditions for their employees.

Whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

The Department for Transport follows the legislation on Shared Parental Leave, which requires employees to have at least 26 weeks’ qualifying service to be entitled to such leave. The Department exceeds statutory requirements by providing enhanced pay for such leave. As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.

Media and Sport, whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

DCMS offers shared parental leave in line with legislation: to access statutory shared parental leave and pay, both parents must have worked for their employer for at least 26 weeks up to the 15th week before their baby is due. However, some staff could qualify for statutory shared parental leave on their first day of service with a particular department, because they already have service with another department.To access our occupational shared parental leave pay, employees must have at least one year’s continuous service in the Civil Service.As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024-25 comes into effect.

Whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

The Home Office applies the statutory eligibility criteria for shared parental leave. Some employees may qualify for statutory shared parental leave from their first day of service with the Home Office because they already have service with another Government department.As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.

Whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

To be eligible for shared parental leave in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, each parent must have at least 26 weeks continuous employment with their respective employer by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth or adoption matching date. They must also still be working for the same respective employer (for Civil Servants continuous service applies to other Civil Service employers) when they intend to take the leave. Some employees could qualify for shared parental leave on their first day of service where they have built up qualifying service in another Civil Service organisation. As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill comes into effect.

Innovation and Technology, whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

To be eligible for shared parental leave in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, each parent must have at least 26 weeks continuous employment with their respective employer by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth or adoption matching date. They must also still be working for the same respective employer (for Civil Servants continuous service applies to other Civil Service employers) when they intend to take the leave.Some employees could qualify for shared parental leave on their first day of service where they have built up qualifying service in another Civil Service organisation.As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.

Whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

To qualify for statutory Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Shared Parental Pay (ShPP), both parents (mother/primary adopter and their partner/secondary adopter) must meet an economic activity test relating to employment and earnings and an individual test relating to duration of service as well as having main caring responsibility for the child. In line with legislation, to be eligible for SPL Cabinet Office policy requires each parent to have at least 26 weeks continuous employment with their respective employer by the end of the 15th week, before the child’s due date or adoption matching date. They must also still be working for the same respective employer when they intend to take the leave. To be eligible for SPL and ShPP at the statutory rate, an employee must have been employed within the Civil Service continuously during the 26 week period before the end of the 15th week before the child’s due date or adoption matching date. If an employee has been employed in the Civil Service for this duration, although not in the Cabinet Office, they may still be eligible for SPL and ShPP so long as they meet all the qualifying criteria. As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in line with the Government’s legislation on employment rights.

Whether her Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

HMT staff must have worked continuously for the Civil Service for at least 26 weeks to be eligible for shared parental leave and pay. Staff can also take unpaid parental leave in addition to shared parental leave if they meet the eligibility criteria. The Employment Rights Bill will remove this eligibility requirement and staff will be entitled to unpaid parental leave from their first working day. HMT will implement this legislative change when it comes into force.

Whether her Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

The Attorney General’s Office does not offer its staff shared parental leave from their first working day. The Civil Service Management Code states that, ‘Departments and agencies may only grant shared parental leave in accordance with the statutory requirements governing eligibility for this category of leave’.However, some staff could qualify for statutory shared parental leave on their first day of service with a particular department because they already have service with another department.As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.

Whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

The Department for Work and Pensions applies the statutory eligibility criteria for shared parental leave, which includes the parent or parents we employ working for at least 26 weeks up to a relevant date. DWP does not offer its staff shared parental leave from their first working day, with the possible exception of existing civil servants who join DWP with continuous/linked service in another government department. As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.

Whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not offer Shared Parental Leave (SPL) to employees as a day one right. To be eligible for SPL, a MOD Civilian employee (or their partner) must be entitled to Maternity/Adoption Leave or Pay (or Maternity Allowance), and must share the main responsibility for caring for the child with their partner. One parent must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks, 15 weeks before the child is due. They should also still be employed in the first week that Shared Parental Leave is to be taken. In addition, the other parent must have worked for 26 weeks in the 66 weeks leading up to the due date.

Whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

No. The Civil Service Management Code states that, ‘Departments and agencies may only grant shared parental leave in accordance with the statutory requirements governing eligibility for this category of leave.’ However, some staff could qualify for statutory shared parental leave on their first day of service with a particular department because they already have service with another department.As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.

Communities and Local Government, whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

No. The Civil Service Management Code states that, ‘Departments and agencies may only grant shared parental leave in accordance with the statutory requirements governing eligibility for this category of leave.’ Some staff may qualify for statutory shared parental leave of their first day of service qualifying service includes employment with another civil service organisation.As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.

Whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

To qualify for shared parental leave, an employee must have been in continuous employment with the Civil Service for 26 weeks up to and including the fifteenth week before the week in which their baby is due to be born.As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.The Civil Service management code states that, departments and agencies may only grant shared parental leave in accordance with the statutory requirements governing eligibility for this category of leave. However, some staff could qualify for statutory shared parental leave on their first day of service with a department because they already have qualifying service with another department.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

No. The Civil Service Management Code sets out that, ‘Departments and agencies may only grant shared parental leave in accordance with the statutory requirements governing eligibility for this category of leave.’ However, some staff could qualify for statutory shared parental leave on their first day of service with a particular department because they already have service with another department. As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.

With reference to line 26 on page 118 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, if she will disaggregate the measures of (a) changing the Secondary Threshold to £5,000 and (b) increasing the employer National Insurance rate by 1.2% for each financial year to 2029-30.

The static revenue of increasing the Employer National Insurance rate from 13.8% to 15%, and reducing the Secondary Threshold to a £5,000 annual equivalent are set out below. (£m)2025-262026-272027-282028-292029-30Revenue from increasing the Employer NIC rate from 13.8% to 15%11,10511,44011,77012,08012,440Revenue from reducing the Secondary Threshold to £5,00017,23017,35017,46018,04018,600 This is a subset of the static costing published in table 5.1 of the HMT Budget documents, and table 3.2 of the OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook, October 2024, and does not account for direct or indirect effects from the wider package. The cost of increasing the rate is calculated before any other parts of the announced package of Employer NIC changes have been calculated – and so assumes the Secondary Threshold and Employment Allowance remain unchanged. The cost of reducing the Secondary Threshold accounts for the higher rate of Employer NICs, but does not account for changes to the Employment Allowance. In addition to the changes outlined above, the Government has protected the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all next year, more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package, and all eligible employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs.

How many construction businesses the Minister of State for Industry has visited since 4 July 2024.

Details of the meetings held by Ministers of the Department for Business and Trade are available on transparency pages of gov.uk and are released as part of the Government’s transparency agenda.However, I have attended events such as AtkinsRealis and Screwfix Live and also met with multiple Trade Associations and companies across the sector through my role as Co-Chair of the Construction Leadership Council, including Build UK, The Civil Engineering Contractors Association, The Builders Merchants Federation and Mace.

On what dates he has met with the Head of Business Engagement to the Chancellor of the Exchequer since 14 October 2024.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has met the Chancellor's Head of Business Engagement in the course of his ministerial role. The Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury work closely together on delivering this Government's Growth agenda.

How many people were (a) awarded Pension Credit and (b) paid Winter Fuel Allowance in West Worcestershire constituency in (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2023-24.

Pension Credit and Winter Fuel Payments are household level benefits. Pension Credit caseload statistics are routinely published and made publicly available via DWP Stat-xplore. In February 2024, 1,929 households were claiming Pension Credit in West Worcestershire. Data for 2024-25 is only available up to May 2024. At this point in time, there were 1,933 households claiming Pension Credit in the West Worcestershire constituency. In Winter 2023 to 2024, 18,868 pensioner households received the Winter Fuel Payment in the West Worcestershire constituency. (Source: Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK). Official Winter Fuel Payment statistics for Winter 2024 to 2025 are expected to be released by the end of 2025.