PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Department of Health and Social Care and NHS: Paternity Leave (8 October 2024)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in (a) his Department and (b) NHS England was in each of the last three years; and what information his Department holds on the average level of paternity leave taken at each NHS trust in the same period.

Asked by:
Shaun Davies (Labour)

The average length of paternity leave at the Department over the last three years is 10 days. The following table shows average length of paternity leave at the Department broken down by year:

Period	Average working days by year
October 2021 September 2022	10
October 2022 September 2023	10
October 2023 September 2024	10

Regarding the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in NHS England and NHS trusts, the Department does not hold this information.

Answered by:
Karin Smyth (Labour)
17 October 2024