I beg to move

That the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Employment and Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026 be approved.

The Business Committee has agreed that there should be no time limit on the debate.

I seek the Assembly's approval for the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Employment and Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026. The statutory rule was made on 1 April and came into operation on 6 April. It is before the Assembly today under the confirmatory procedure.

Again, I am grateful to the Economy Committee and the Examiner of Statutory Rules for their scrutiny of the rule. It was made with the concurrence of HMRC and the Treasury, and I thank them for their assistance. The confirmatory procedure means that the regulations came into operation before the debate and have to be approved by the Assembly within the relevant statutory period. In this case, the deadline for approval is 6 October 2026.

Before 6 April, only parental bereavement leave was a day-1 right. Now, eligible parents who have commenced employment at the time of their miscarriage, stillbirth or the death of a child can also claim statutory parental bereavement pay from day 1. That is a significant improvement in support for bereaved parents and prospective parents. By working together, the Assembly has made the North one of the first places to offer a full two weeks of leave and set a minimum level of pay for that wider group of bereaved parents. The package supports employees, provides enhanced rights and contributes to the wider goal of encouraging good jobs.

It is important that the framework is clear and workable for employers, including small and medium-sized businesses. The 2026 regulatory impact assessment estimates one-off employer familiarisation costs of up to £1·36 million, with wider HMRC implementation costs forecast at £1·5 million and annual systems maintenance costs of around £10,000. It may assist Members to note that early implementation has gone smoothly. In the first two months since the changes came into force, approximately 70 claims have been received. HMRC has advised at this early stage that no issues have been identified in the operation of the scheme. Given that the policy was introduced only recently, HMRC has indicated that it does not expect to provide substantive evaluation data until later in the year. In addition, no adverse feedback has been reported by nibusinessinfo, suggesting that the guidance provided to employers has been clear and accessible. Taken together, that points to a scheme that is operating effectively in its early stages, while, of course, remaining under review as further evidence becomes available.

I therefore commend to the Assembly the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Employment and Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026. The regulations amend the employment and earnings provisions that apply to statutory parental bereavement pay. They form part of the wider 2026 parental bereavement reforms and support the updated statutory parental bereavement pay arrangements. The purpose of the regulations is to ensure that employment and earnings rules within the statutory parental bereavement pay framework are aligned with the strengthened 2026 arrangements, including the move to a day-1 right for statutory parental bereavement pay. The regulations are subject, as I said, to confirmatory procedure and require Assembly approval within the relevant statutory period. With statutory rule No. 58, they help to ensure that the statutory parental bereavement pay framework remains workable, effective and capable of supporting bereaved working parents in the way intended in the wider 2026 reforms.

I am happy to commend the regulations to the House.

There are no Members to speak on the motion, so we can move straight to the Question.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved:

That the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Employment and Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026 be approved.

Members, please take your ease before we move to the next item of business.

(Mr Deputy Speaker [Dr Aiken] in the Chair)