The Department is not in a position to say how many parents avail of Parents leave in a specific week or month as this data is not collated. Data on the number of Parents benefit claims that have been awarded each month in the period January - August 2021, is available and is set out in the following table. It should be noted that while a claim may be awarded in one month, the leave and benefit could be availed of at a different time, or over a period of months, as it is available to use one week at a time.
2021
|
No. of Parents Claims Awarded
|
Jan
|
2384
|
Feb
|
2217
|
Mar
|
3170
|
Apr
|
6700
|
May
|
4637
|
Jun
|
4400
|
Jul
|
4674
|
Aug
|
4239
|
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.