Biography
Baroness Penn has engaged primarily through debate speeches across a range of topics, with 13 speeches on subjects including maternity and neonatal care, mental health, public health, and NHS staffing, alongside committee work on preterm birth. Her recent contributions show particular focus on parental leave reform and employment rights, with detailed engagement on maternity and paternity provisions in the Employment Rights Bill. She has also raised concerns about digital technology's impact on early years children's development and health, and highlighted chronic staffing shortages in maternity and neonatal services.
Generated from their own Hansard record, below
“…Of course, the impact of leave on operational readiness must be taken into account. Unlike maternity leave, paternity leave is not exempt from the provision in JSP 760 that “the granting and timing of all forms of absence … is to be at the discretion of the Service and is subject to operational requirements and the gen…”
Record by topic
- Maternity & neonatal65th of 43814.5
- Mental health603rd of 8804.0
- Learning disability & autism756th of 8992.0
- Public health & prevention573rd of 6882.0
- NHS waiting lists467th of 5342.0
- Cancer503rd of 6222.0
- NHS & care workforce/staffing236th of 3022.0
- Elderly care & frailty166th of 2362.0
What they’ve said
“…ODA to defence cannot be repeated—and meeting the growing demands of our health service and an ageing population. These pressures must, at least in part, be met from savings in spending elsewhere, but the gracious Speech contained not a single proposal for where such savings might come from.”
King’s Speech · 2026-05-14 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…For many years, the system for taking maternity and other parental leave was managed informally, with a period of leave agreed with the Prime Minister and cover normally provided by other Ministers within a department or a Whip stepping up.”
Ministerial Salaries (Amendment) Bill · 2026-04-14 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…early years strategy, there is nothing in the early years foundation stage statutory framework and there is no public health information for family hubs, health visitors or GPs, so the digital action group wrote again to the Government last week to call for real action in this area.”
Preschool Children: Digital Technology · 2025-12-18 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…Government determine that to be: tax cuts, spending increases, driving down waiting lists, or driving up housebuilding. I hope, therefore, that the Government will return to their number one priority of growth next year, and that is something in a Budget that we can all welcome.…”
Autumn Budget 2025 · 2025-12-04 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…I have also spoken to fathers whose own mental health has suffered, leaving them struggling to meet their obligations to their family and to their employer, as well as safeguard their own well- being.”
Employment Rights Bill · 2025-07-16 · Read on Hansard ↗
Contributions reproduced under the Open Parliament Licence.