Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Deferred
Raise statutory paternity pay to 90% of average earnings for first six weeks
Recommendation
A key aim of the Government’s review of the parental leave system must be to incentivise greater gender equality in parenting responsibilities. Increasing statutory paternity pay is a vital part of achieving this. As a priority, the Government must consider raising paternity pay to the level of maternity pay in the first six weeks i.e. 90% of average earnings. We recommend this change be made during this Parliament. (Recommendation, Paragraph 31)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government acknowledges the importance of gender equality in parenting and that the system needs improvement. It defers the recommendation to significantly raise statutory paternity pay to the ongoing 18-month parental leave and pay review, which will consider all entitlements and costs.
Government Response
The government responded to this report on 19 September 2025. No passage in that response could be matched to this recommendation. Read the response document ↗