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<p>I have asked the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to reply.</p><p>Letter
from Marcial Boo, chief executive of IPSA, 10 October 2018:</p><p>The Independent
Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) provides Family Leave Guidance in relation
to staff employed by MPs, a copy of which can be found on our website at: <a href="https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/QKKeCvlGAf2N028cQYpib?domain=theipsa.org.uk"
target="_blank">http://www.theipsa.org.uk/ipsa-for-mps/guidance</a>.</p><p>This document
provides guidance on maternity leave, paternity leave, adoption leave, shared parental
leave, KIT/SPLIT days and caring leave. This is not a policy, but guidance to MPs
on the statutory entitlements. As the legal employers of their staff, MPs are responsible
for matters of individual staffing arrangements, such as approving instances of family
leave and ensuring that they comply with relevant employment legislation.</p><p>As
the document is guidance rather than a policy, and relates only to the statutory entitlements,
we have not undertaken any specific assessment of its effects. However, IPSA encourages
responsible employment and any necessary expenditure by MPs on the health and welfare
of their staff, including their mental health. MPs can claim the cost of staff health
and welfare costs, such as occupational health assessments, from their staffing budgets.
We also undertake Equality Impact Assessments (EIA) in relation to major changes to
our Scheme of MPs’ Business Costs and Expenses. We last undertook an EIA in March
2017 which concluded that changes proposed to our Scheme were likely to have a small
positive impact on MPs’ staff in relation to pregnancy and maternity. A copy of that
report can be found on our website at: <a href="https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/fz7eCwVJBfA8ZAxIqtIAt?domain=theipsa.org.uk"
target="_blank">http://www.theipsa.org.uk/publications/consultations/review-of-the-mps-scheme-of-business-costs-and-expenses</a>.</p>
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