Chris Elmore
MP for Bridgend · Labour · United Kingdom
“This Government fully recognise that China poses a series of threats to UK national security, from cyber-attacks, foreign interference and espionage targeting our domestic institutions to the transnational repression of Hongkongers.”
“Let me be clear: any attempt by a foreign state to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm individuals on UK soil will never be tolerated, but the hon. Lady knows as well as I do that there is a live investigation by the Metropolitan police. Members of this House should respect the fact that the Metropolitan police are investigating.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this issue, and I was pleased to confirm to the House back in May the £21 million fund over three years to advance LGBTQ rights internationally. This Government will always support the international rights of LGBT people for evermore.”
“My hon. Friend will know that we work across Government to tackle disinformation. Within my portfolio we have increased funding for the BBC World Service, which is the most trusted newscaster across the world. That is a way in which the Foreign Office tackles disinformation.”
“We continue to work internationally. My hon. Friend will know that I am also the Commonwealth Minister, and part of that work involves showing that some of the United Kingdom’s most important relationships are with those countries, whether across Africa or in the Caribbean.”
“To reassure the hon. Gentleman, he knows that I have a personal commitment to working with our freedom of religion or belief envoy, my hon. Friend the Member for North Northumberland (David Smith). He never shies away from the particular point the hon. Gentleman is raising and nor will I as Minister. On the wider point that the hon.”
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“I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. I take this opportunity to thank all those who have been involved in the Bill’s journey up to this point, particularly Widowed and Young, the TUC and Gingerbread. Clerks do not often receive praise in the House, but I thank Anne-Marie Griffiths, the Clerk of private Members’ Bills, who has done sterling work to support me in progressing this Bill. From the outset, as I said on Second Reading, the Bill’s ambition has been to help as few people as possible. Nobody wants a mother to die in childbirth, leaving a partner behind. The grief is unimaginable, and a person does not have to be a parent to understand the horror for anyone who is left behind.”
“I pay tribute to the officials again, and to the hon. Member for Castle Point (Rebecca Harris), who is instrumental in ensuring that so many Bills are passed every sitting Friday, week after week. I can recall days when no private Member’s Bills were passed, Mr Deputy Speaker, under a previous Whip for PMBs, and that was the sport of the Friday. These days, many pass with good cause and I am so pleased that Members have supported the Bill’s progress to the other place. I look forward to it gaining consent from there and from His Majesty the King. Question put and agreed to. Bill accordingly read the Third time and passed.”
“I have had several conversations with bereaved parents, some of whom were bereaved years and years ago, who have said what a difference this legislation would have made had it existed at the time. Nobody expects to lose their partner in childbirth—it is unimaginable in that sense—but now they are able to reflect on it in those terms. I could not conclude without paying tribute to the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Darren Henry). He was instrumental in convincing an Opposition Whip to take on his Bill, and I said at the time that that was quite an achievement. But we are actually here today because of Aaron, Bernadette and Tim. I wish we were not, in truth, but we are, and that is because of people such as Aaron and their dogged determination to convince their MPs that the law could be changed.”
“With the leave of the House, I thank all Members who have spoken in this debate, including the hon. Members for Hyndburn (Sara Britcliffe) and for Stoke-on-Trent South (Jack Brereton). The hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South has consistently supported the Bill, and I am grateful to him for always being here when the Bill was debated on the Floor of the House. I said at the beginning that I wanted to thank the organisations that have supported the Bill and I do so again. The support of organisations such as Gingerbread, the Fawcett Society and the Childhood Bereavement Network has been invaluable not just in making sure that the Bill works for parents but in giving living examples of people who are left behind to raise a child.”
“The petition states: The petition of residents of the constituency of Ogmore, Declares that people who received infected blood and who have suffered as a consequence have, along with their families, waited far too long for redress. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to implement the recommendations in the Second Interim Report of the Infected Blood Inquiry without delay. And the petitioners remain, etc. [P002966]”
“Yet we heard just a few months ago from the Prime Minister that the UK’s answer is not to rush to regulate. The Competition and Markets Authority has been clear about the potential harms that unregulated AI could generate from baking in biases that affect certain demographics, and general purpose models that could get out of control. Why have the Government dragged their feet on safeguards for the most advanced AI models, or is the Secretary of State simply waiting for the next Labour Government to control the new AI models?”
“I do not think the plan is working. I believe the Minister wants to fix it, but what is the next plan to resolve things and ensure that prison officers remain safe on our prison estate?”
“I know the Minister cares about this issue and wants to see solutions for how we protect prison officers across the prison estate, but according to the Prison Officers Association and the Community union, serious offences against prison officers are up 10% on last year. Some 750 of those assaults are deemed to be serious, and 23 attacks are being recorded every day on the prison estate across England and Wales. There are huge concerns about overcrowding. The level of prison officers is 10% lower than in 2010. It is positive to hear the Secretary of State talking about opening new prisons, but if there are no prison officers to work there, how will we resolve these issues? More worryingly, prison officers are taking to the media to say that they are frightened for their lives to work on the prison estate.”
“I propose that amendment 3 is accepted, and that clause 3, as amended, stand part of the Bill. I will wait for Members’ remarks and close as the process allows.”
“I am sure the Committee will agree that the removal of such a broad Henry VIII power is a good thing. Clause 2 also includes other unnecessary provisions, such as a power to make transitional and saving provisions, and a stipulation that the affirmative procedure will apply to the regulations. To clarify to the Committee, that stipulation is unnecessary because the powers of the Employment Rights Act 1996 that are being amended by the Bill are already subject to the affirmative procedure. Clause 3 sets out the extent of the Bill, which is England, Wales and Scotland. It also gives the Secretary of State the power to commence the Bill in regulations. Those two provisions have not been amended. Amendment 3 adds a standard legal provision to clause 3, setting out that the commencement regulations must be made by statutory instrument.”
“Amendment 5 amends the long title, because it needs changing to more accurately represent the amended scope of the Bill’s content as a result of the changes made by new clause 1. I propose that the Committee accepts the amendment. I have tabled amendment 2 to indicate my intention to vote against clause 2. I am enjoying looking across at Members who seem confused by what I am saying about voting against and for different amendments. I speak as a long-serving Whip, so if I find it confusing, there is not much hope for other Members, but I do think I am following it, thanks to the Clerk’s advice. Amendment 2 has not been selected by the Chair, but we can achieve the same effect by voting against clause 2. Currently, clause 2(1) contains a broad Henry VIII power that enables the amendment of any Act of Parliament previously passed.”
“For the Committee’s understanding, KIT days enable employees to work for their employer for a limited number of days without their right to paternal leave and pay being affected. As I have set out, new clause 1 forms the heart of the Bill, as it contains its most important provisions. On that basis, I propose that the Committee accepts it and adds it to the Bill. I also propose that amendment 4, which is consequential on new clause 1, is accepted. Amendment 1 removes clause 1, as the changes made by new clause 1 will effectively replace its context. I tabled amendment 1 to indicate my intention to vote against clause 1. Amendment 1 has not been selected by the Chair, but we can achieve the same effect by voting against clause 1.”
“Fifthly, the new clause allows provision to be made for situations in which the child also dies. It gives the regulation the flexibility in such cases to allow the employee to stay on paternity leave for a period, despite the fact that they would not be taking the leave for the required purpose of supporting the mother or caring for the child. Finally, the new clause introduces two new powers, the first of which provides the ability to introduce, through regulations, enhanced redundancy protection to bereaved employees when they return from extended paternity leave. The second power enables regulations to be made to allow bereaved parents to have keep-in-touch days during their extended paternity leave.”
“Thirdly, the removal of the requirement that the regulations stipulate a continuity-of-service requirement will enable surviving parents to take leave from their first day in a new job, in the tragic situation in which their partner has died and they need to care for their child. That is essential to deliver the intention behind the Bill and ensure that continuity of service is no bar to taking this kind of leave when it is needed. Fourthly, the new clause removes the requirement that regulations must provide that a parent who has taken shared parental leave cannot then take paternity leave. This gives the Secretary of State the power to provide that a parent who took shared parental leave before the death of their partner can still take paternity leave.”
“By contrast, paternity leave entitlements are independent of whatever entitlement the other parent has, so the choice of this mechanism brings more parents, such as surviving partners of deceased stay-at-home mums, into the scope of the entitlement. Secondly, the entitlement establishes that the surviving partner of a parent who has opted to take adoption leave is in the scope of the entitlement. That allows the surviving parents of adopted children and of children born through surrogacy arrangements to be included, meaning that we can offer the entitlement to a wider range of parents, who will also benefit from it at a very challenging time for them.”
“Having discussed that matter with the Government, I have concluded that paternity leave is a more appropriate vehicle to deliver the entitlement, a key reason being that the central feature of a shared parental leave scheme is that the mother or adoptive parent is already entitled to maternity or adoption leave or pay, and curtails that entitlement in order to create an entitlement to shared parental leave. For a bereaved partner to qualify for shared parental leave, then, the deceased parent must have had a recent history of employment. If the deceased parent did not have such a history—for example, in the case of a stay-at-home mum—there would be no shared parental leave entitlement for the surviving parent to access.”
“As Members will have seen, the amendments make extensive changes to the Bill as introduced. Rather than going through which clauses will stand part of the Bill, I will therefore focus on amendments and, in doing so, detail what the Bill as revised will contain, and which parts of it will stand part of the revised Bill. Let me begin by setting out the detail in new clause 1 which, as the Committee will have seen, makes substantive changes to chapter 3 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, which deals with paternity leave. The new clause has several purposes, all of which are integral to the Bill. First, the new clause establishes that paternity leave will be used as the vehicle to deliver the entitlement.”
“As the father of a three-year-old, I genuinely cannot think of anything worse than losing my wife and the mother of my son while having to raise him alone, as well as managing with the idea of whether I can keep my job. Thankfully, only a small number of individuals find themselves in this situation, with around 180 maternal deaths within 12 months of childbirth a year. However, the most recent data published by MBRRACE, which monitors maternal deaths, stillbirths and infant deaths, highlights how maternal death during pregnancy is currently at a 20-year high. While the numbers are still mercifully low, it is important that parents in this position need not rely on the good will of their employer to take time away from work to care for their child and, indeed, to grieve.”
“It will introduce this entitlement and provide support and security to employed parents in the tragic circumstance of losing their partner around the same time as becoming a new parent, if they do not meet the continuity of service requirement to qualify for a statutory parental leave entitlement—in other words, if they have not been in their job for the required length of time to qualify. The loss of a partner in a life-altering ordeal and navigating that profound grief alongside the demands of caring for a new child must undoubtedly pose an immense challenge. My heartfelt condolences go to those who find themselves in this terrible position.”
“I also put on record my thanks to Simon Thorpe, who had to endure the heartache of losing his partner not long after the birth of their child. Simon has made it clear that as an employer now, he would not have been able to offer any more than five days’ compassionate leave if a member of his team found themselves in the same circumstances. Surviving partners and spouses should not be left at the mercy of whether they have an understanding employer. I hope the Bill will remedy that. The Bill will put on the statute book a right to leave on the first day of the bereaved partner’s employment, providing them with the support and protection they need.”
“Member for Broxtowe, who was instrumental in leading the work on this vital issue when he introduced his ten-minute rule Bill. The hon. Gentleman has campaigned tirelessly on behalf of his constituent, Aaron, who, I am pleased to say—although I know we are not meant make reference to this—is in the Public Gallery this morning. When Aaron tragically lost his wife Bernadette shortly after the birth of their son, Tim, he did not have access to a statutory leave right because he had moved employer in the months before Tim’s birth. The current rules put Aaron, and other parents in this tragic position, without access to leave to care for their child, safe in the knowledge that they have a job to come back to when they are ready and able to do so.”
“May I say what a pleasure it is to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Paisley? That is especially true as Members from Northern Ireland spoke on Second Reading to express their hope that if the Bill became law at some point, it could also be adopted in Northern Ireland. I genuinely hope that can be the case. Upon learning of my success in the ballot, my ambition was to champion a legislative measure that could bring about lasting change and meaningful improvements in the lives of individuals and families to make their lives a little easier. I extend my gratitude to organisations such as Gingerbread, the Fawcett Society and the Childhood Bereavement Network for their invaluable support and guidance through this process. I also place on record my thanks to and support for the hon.”
“To move to a technical point, I reiterate the importance of this piece of legislation, and I hope that as we move to our decisions, under your stewardship, Mr Paisley, we will get the noes and ayes in the correct place—we will see how this works out. I hope that the Bill can proceed successfully to the next stage, to Report and Third Reading. It is my intention to vote against clause 1; I understand the procedural reasons for that. Good luck, Mr Paisley.”
“I have had an insight into the work of the civil service over the past few weeks, and all I can say is that I am hugely impressed by it. The work that they have done has been wonderful. I also thank my staff, particularly my researcher, Alex Williams, who has spent many an hour working through this Bill, including with civil servants—I thank him for that. It is always nice to get one’s staff in the Hansard records, as it is not always something that we manage to do. I thank all Members for their contributions. It is right to say that this House works best when it works cross party. These are the things that are not seen. This is genuinely a Government and Opposition Bill, and that is how these Bills should be; they should be about cross-party working as often as we can.”
“However, as I said on Second Reading, I do not want this Bill to help many people, because the whole point of it is to support people in their darkest hour, and nobody—Conservative, Labour, Scottish National party or Plaid Cymru—would want anybody to face this horror: the joy of being a parent and the unimaginable loss of losing a partner. Being a parent should be nothing but joy—and exhaustion, particularly when they are first born. It should not be about just blind grief. I am trying to understand how that feels, but I cannot imagine it, and I hope that I never have to face it. The numbers are small—and thank God for that—and I hope that they always remain small. I would like to place on the record, although I mentioned them briefly, the Minister’s officials.”
“This Bill is that; we have made a significant step in the right direction, and, throughout the course of employment rights legislation, these things often started as leave, and then moved to the next step, and so on and so forth. Indeed, I do not think that shared parental leave was in legislation until the Cameron Administration, and I think that paternity leave was invented by the Blair Administration. These things move and change throughout history, regardless of party politics. That brings me to my broader point. I pay tribute again to the hon. Member for Broxtowe, because he has been a huge advocate for his constituents, but he has also been very good in lobbying me—a skill in itself—to convince me to take on the Bill.”
“I start by thanking the Minister most sincerely. There is a process with private Members’ Bills —perhaps I am issuing state secrets from the Government and Opposition Whips Offices—where handout Bills are worked through to ensure that private Members’ Bills can be delivered. This was not one of those Bills. I say this sincerely: the Minister, and indeed his officials, have been incredibly constructive in working with me to ensure that we do not let the perfect get in the way of the good, as the right hon. Member for Staffordshire Moorlands—I call her my right hon. Friend—says a lot in her Procedure Committee work, although I do not think that she invented the phrase.”
“In paying tribute to all those people, the right hon. Lady forgot to mention herself. It is fair to say that getting to this point has been a labour of love for in excess of two years. Those of us on the CPA executive who are in this Committee room to debate the Bill know that she very much spearheaded that work, and she deserves credit for it.”
“It is hugely important to a small number of people, and I look forward to dealing with the number of amendments that will come forward when the Bill is in Committee at the end of the month. Question put and agreed to.”
“I rise in support of the Minister’s motion. I thank him for the constructive way in which he, his officials and—dare I say it?—the Government Whips Office have engaged with me during the passage of this Bill. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Justin Madders) for his and his team’s support. As the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Darren Henry) said, this Bill will not impact many people. No one in this House wants it to impact many people, because nobody should face what some of our constituents have in recent years and long before. Becoming a parent should be a moment of joy, not a moment of grief and sorrow. I welcome the Minister’s intervention to broaden the scope of the Bill.”
“Q14. At the weekend the people of south Wales marched in support of the steel industry, following the Government’s grubby deal with Tata, which is now placing thousands of jobs at risk in Port Talbot and beyond. The Prime Minister is failing to protect our steel industry because he failed to make protecting jobs at the plant a red line. He now has a choice: work with the unions, Tata and the workforce to protect the industry and the jobs with investment, or walk away and do what Tories always do—abandon the south Wales communities yet again. Which is it, Prime Minister?”
“Last week, the Secretary of State stated in the steel debate that he understands “the devastation that people will feel in Port Talbot—the whole community, but especially those people who face the loss of their jobs” —[ Official Report , 23 January 2024; Vol. 744, c. 264.] at the plant and beyond. Why is it, then, that the Secretary of State or the Business Secretary did not put in a red line on job losses while this work was being done, especially given that Tata has this morning doubled down on those losses at the Welsh Affairs Committee? It is nothing short of a disgrace.”
“I hope that if the Bill passes its Second Reading, it will open up that important debate. At present, there is a loophole in legislation that is leaving some parents and guardians without sufficient time to grieve, plan and adjust to life without the mother of their child. I urge colleagues to give due consideration to the Bill’s passing at Second Reading. As I have stated, the Bill would make a massive difference to a small number of cases each year where families experience life-changing circumstances. Those are circumstances that none of us would want for anyone; thankfully, many never face them. Whether it is Aaron and his young son, or anyone who faces this tapestry of grief and joy, staring at a life never planned, I believe it is this place’s job to make life that little bit easier.”
“Furthermore, there has been a startling 132% increase in absolute terms of black, Asian and minority ethnic persons in insecure work. Over the space of a decade, that figure has jumped from 360,241 in 2011 to 836,339. We also know that maternal mortality rates have been rising among the BAME community. Dads in insecure work, such as agency work and zero-hours contracts, are not eligible for leave, and those who are self-employed have little to no protections should they find themselves in such a situation. I recognise that the Bill focuses on those in insecure work, but it is important to have a broad debate on paternity and maternity rights. That is especially so when the figures are as clear as day in highlighting the rapid rise in insecure work and mortality rates among pregnant women.”
“Therefore, after discussions with the Minister and his officials, it is envisaged that the Bill would not require a money resolution due to the relatively small financial cost incurred by the Government, as it links to leave only. However, as I stressed earlier in my speech, this is a first step. I have learned throughout my time in this place to not let the perfect get in the way of the good. While the Bill aims to give a day-one right to leave to those in insecure work, I hope it will open a broader debate on the employment rights of not just those who work in secure roles, but the growing number of constituents who work in insecure roles. According to a report published by the TUC, the number of people in insecure work has increased from 3.2 million in 2016 to 3.9 million last year.”
“The Bill would allow the Secretary of State to remove that test through regulations. That would effectively close the loophole that, for example, resulted in the constituent of the hon. Member for Broxtowe not being entitled to shared parental leave. According to research carried out by the Childhood Bereavement Network, a child’s need for stability following a parent’s death makes it vital for the surviving parent to be able to respond flexibly to them. The child’s adjustment is often closely associated with the parent’s capacity to care for them, including being physically available to them. We know that, thankfully, only a small percentage of families each year find themselves in such a position.”
“While I recognise that there is already provision in law for shared parental leave in the case of bereavement, that is subject to a strict continuity of employment test, as the Minister knows. As it stands, for a mother’s partner to take shared parental leave, they must have been working for at least 26 weeks of the 66 weeks before the baby was due, and they must have earned at least £390 in total across any 30 of the 66 weeks. The partner must also have been employed continuously by the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the due date. They must also stay with the same employer until they start their leave period. In short, that is a lot of fixed conditions in a world where people change jobs and careers more frequently than in previous generations.”
“After all, there is two-week statutory paternity leave on birth of a child, but it is equally significant should a parent die that the surviving parent is able to be present at home in the immediate aftermath. It’s not just the emotional impact, it’s the practical aspects of organising a funeral, the “deathocracy” paperwork that goes on and on—probate, wills, liaising with school or preschool and so on. In these moments thinking about work is the last thing on one’s mind, but of course for many there will be a financial pressure, although Bereavement Support Payment has been a most unexpected source of income for me.” The Bill sets out the following changes. It would make shared parental leave and pay for a father or partner, where the mother of the child has died, a day-one employment right.”
“Three to five days might be fine for a distant relative, sibling, or even a parent, but for loss of a spouse or even a child it is completely unthinkable that a person could return usefully to the workplace. The only other option would be to be signed off sick by a GP. I don’t think any legislation can ‘fix’ bereavement and every person responds to bereavement in a different way. There is no prescribable timescale for overcoming a significant loss and being ready to return to work. However, providing a statutory basis for leave following loss of a spouse, particularly in the case where there is a dependent child, seems a positive step.”
“My wife died in August 2022, and by not having a job I was in a better position to immediately deal with the aftermath, especially the childcare. Looking after my two-year-old son was the single most important task. However, as an employer myself, if one of my staff had been in my position of losing a partner, I would have been able to offer our standard three to five days’ compassionate leave. I now know first-hand that this would be totally inadequate, and would not even allow time to hold a funeral. It’s true that after the funeral is when bereavement often hits hardest. I’m sure some employers would be as flexible as possible and offer a period of unpaid leave.”
“I worked for a medium-sized charity in the north west as general manager, and I immediately asked my chairman to go part-time and work flexibly so I could help out with childcare and hospital appointments. Working flexibly had become the new normal during covid anyway. My chairman and board agreed, and to be honest they didn’t have a choice, but I expect many other employers would not have been able to be so flexible. After five months, it became clear I couldn’t carry on working in such a responsible position, and manage the childcare and hospital treatment requirements of my wife, so I resigned and left work in October 2021 and became a full-time carer and parent. Fortunately my wife was receiving full sick pay from her employer so I could afford to give up work.”
“Their partner, who they have lost in childbirth, may have had less time to build up earnings, make mortgage payments or contribute to pension schemes, and is less likely to have planned future finances. Dads who are currently not entitled to SLP because of their own or their partner’s insecure employment prior to death may therefore be among the most vulnerable financially. We have heard a lot about the stats and figures behind this issue, but it is important to name and understand the lived experiences behind those figures. I want to read, in his own words, what happened to Simon Thorpe. His lived experience means that now, as an employer himself, he supports this change in the law: “My wife and I had our first child in August 2020 and 6 months later my wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer.”
“For many, even the process of getting set up on the scheme is too arduous, with nearly 10% of eligible mothers and fathers stating that it was too complex to set up and manage. Furthermore, due to the strict eligibility criteria for SPL, approximately 40% of working fathers are left without any leave entitlement. That includes, but is not limited to, fathers whose partner is not working or not entitled to maternity leave, fathers who are in insecure work, fathers who changed jobs after their partner became pregnant, and those fathers who are on lower incomes. The Childhood Bereavement Network has made the important point that parents of babies may be particularly at risk of financial strain because they are younger.”
“When dealing with such a trio of issues, the last thing many will want to be thinking and worrying about is leave from their employment. Parental leave is something we should be proud of in this country, but it is by no means perfect. Making it easier and more accessible for individuals in what can be incredibly difficult circumstances is something I am sure colleagues across the House will support. When doing a deep dive into the issue of leave, I was shocked at just how low the take-up of shared parental leave is in this country. Only 1% of eligible employee mothers, at a time when maternal mortality rights are rising, and only 5% of eligible employees take up any shared parental leave, according to the parental rights survey of 2019.”
“Even more troubling is that black, Asian and minority ethnic women, and those in economically deprived areas, are more severely affected. Women from ethnic backgrounds remain four times more likely to die during or after pregnancy, and those from Asian backgrounds are twice as likely to die compared with Caucasian women. Those are figures not seen since the early 2000s. The UK Government’s stated ambition was to halve maternal mortality rates between 2010 and 2025, yet the numbers clearly paint a different picture. It is clear that with maternal deaths rising, more partners and spouses are being left in the unenviable and heart-wrenching circumstance of bringing up a newborn, planning a funeral and adjusting to life without their significant other.”
“My sincere, genuine hope is that the Bill will be the start of a process and debate about making changes to a specific area of law in the months and years to come. I am pleased that the Labour party, if given the privilege to serve our country following the general election, whenever it comes, has a plan to improve employment rights, including those of new parents, so I hope I can lobby Labour Ministers in the years ahead. The numbers behind this issue are concerning, and I am sorry to say that they are going in the wrong direction. Data released only a few weeks ago by MBRRACE, which monitors the cause of maternal deaths, stillbirths and infant deaths, highlights how the number of women dying each year during pregnancy, or soon after, has increased to its highest level in 20 years, with 3.41 deaths per 100,000 women.”
“The Bill I have tabled seeks to give a day-one right to leave for parents in the most tragic of circumstances who do not meet current continuity of service requirements, so that they have a guaranteed leave entitlement to process the grief and change in personal circumstances, along with a job to return to when they are able to do so. I want to mention the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Darren Henry), who led the charge on this issue when he introduced his ten-minute rule Bill in respect of his constituent Aaron. I will leave him to speak of those circumstances, but I pay tribute to him for the tenacious way that he has lobbied on this issue over the past year. Equally, in mentioning him I confess that this Bill is a little different—or perhaps a lot—from his original Bill, but for me this is about making progress on the issue.”
“The phrase, “It would make anyone’s blood run cold,” is probably a grave understatement. The trauma is unimaginable, yet every year a proportion of families must endure that most tragic of circumstances: the unimaginable joy of becoming a parent, but facing the devastating grief of losing the person you had planned the next part of your life with, and now having to somehow raise a child alone. Like many colleagues across the House, my party has been committed to boosting and safeguarding employment and parental rights in recent decades. In recent years, Bills have been passed on neonatal care, supporting people with baby loss and, of course, shared parental leave, but there is always much more to do.”
“I am pleased to say that this Bill will not impact tens of thousands of people across the United Kingdom, because nobody in this House or in wider society would want it to. As its title states, it is fundamentally about the loss of a partner, wife or mother in childbirth, and about ensuring that more of those left behind have a right to leave in those most horrendous of circumstances. The House rightly has an annual debate on child loss, which impacts too many people year after year. To me, it is an unimaginable grief, yet like so many issues, life events and tragedies, it can be left unsaid and undebated if it is not raised by a Member. As a husband and a parent, I cannot comprehend losing a partner in childbirth, or indeed what it is like for a child to lose either of their parents before their birth.”
“Member for Castle Point (Rebecca Harris), who is often forgotten and never thanked for the invaluable work she does in supporting Members in the passing of private Members’ Bills. I sincerely thank the Minister and his officials for the constructive and open way in which they have engaged in finding consensus to reach this point. I am confident that within the political DNA of all Members of this place is an aim to almost always undertake work that has the biggest impact—work that brings about the most meaningful change for the largest group of people in society we can reach. In doing so, however, we often miss the groups in society who are forgotten or who fall through the legislative cracks of loopholes in our laws.”