Children and Families Bill

Lord Stevenson of Balmacara Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stevenson of Balmacara]

My Lords, I shall speak to Parts 6 to 8 of the Bill, which we broadly welcome. These changes will help improve gender equality at work and at home, and give some families greater choice about how they share their childcare responsibilities. This would be greatly enhanced if, as my noble friend Lady Drake has argued, more support can be given to grandparents. However, I also wonder whether the Bill misses an opportunity to improve independent rights of access to leave and support for fathers, and to initiate a culture change in favour of truly flexible leave and pay.

From what has already been said in this debate and particularly by my noble friend Lady Hughes, I am sure that there will be support across your Lordships’ House for a Bill that foregrounded children’s rights and benefits and, starting from that position, promoted the opportunities for fathers to care for their children, and especially to share their childcare responsibilities with mothers in the crucial early years. After all, the issue of fathers sharing care is first and foremost about what is good for children and the whole family too. It gives children more time with their fathers, which is a very good thing for both, enables women to keep a foothold in the world of work, which is better for their future work prospects than taking time out, and it is good for the couple relationship.

The new system of shared parental leave and pay will replace the additional paternity leave and pay system with a more flexible, transferable one. Mothers may continue to take maternity leave and pay as they do now, unless they choose to transfer some of this to their partner. Along with many groups and commentators, we welcome this increased flexibility. This will also help challenge many employers’ default assumptions about who will care for a new baby and in turn this may help address the regrettably high incidence of maternity discrimination in the workplace.

When the Minister responds I would be grateful if he could comment on the following issues which were raised during the consultation process, but which have not made it into the Bill.

The Consultation on Modern Workplaces says that there is strong evidence of the benefits of shared parenting and, in particular, that fathers who are engaged in caring for their children early on are more likely to stay involved. So why are no changes proposed to ordinary paternity leave and pay? The only entitlement for fathers in their own right remains at two weeks’ leave at the flat rate, assuming that they qualify for paternity leave at all. Will this not result in some fathers continuing to be unable to take any paid leave at the time of their child’s birth? Is it really satisfactory for fathers to have to rely on short- term, unpaid time off for dependants to accompany their partners at the birth?

International evidence shows that fathers’ take-up of leave is influenced by whether it is earmarked for them and whether it is adequately paid. The modern workplaces consultation proposed a father quota to encourage more fathers to take leave, but this has not been included in the Bill. The Government have decided not to introduce this until the economy has properly recovered and flexible parental leave has fully embedded. When he responds, can the Minister explain what criteria will be used to determine when the economy has properly recovered and can he explain at the same time what time or volume indicators he will be using to assess whether flexible parental leave has fully embedded?

The Bill proposes that mothers and fathers may transfer leave and pay between them in blocks of a minimum of a week at a time. The consultation proposed that parents might take the new form of leave in smaller chunks or on a part-time basis if their employer agreed. This was warmly welcomed by family organisations and some employers. Part-time leave and part-time pay can have significant benefits for families, particularly those on low incomes who would like to extend the time that they can spend at home, but who cannot afford to have no income. Allowing part-time leave, topped up by wages, might allow low-income parents to transition gradually back to work. Many good employers already allow employees to come back to work after maternity leave on a gradual basis, which helps with handover periods from locum cover. Children may also benefit if they can be settled into new childcare arrangements on a gradual basis. Can the Minister explain why this “smaller chunks” provision was not included?

Shared parental leave will be available to couples only where both parents are economically active, and meet service and earnings requirements. In 2010 there were approximately 782,000 maternities in Britain, but the maximum number of fathers who may be eligible for shared parental leave will be 285,000 at most, according to the BIS impact assessment, which is 36% of all maternities. Does the Minister believe that 36% represents a satisfactory level of engagement by fathers? Currently, statutory pay rates are well below the national minimum wage and will only be uprated in line with other benefits by 1% until 2016. Does the Minister agree that this sends a poor message about how society values time spent at home with a new baby, with parents being paid less than they would receive in a minimum-wage job?

Clause 99 introduces a right for fathers and partners, including intended partners in surrogacy situations, to take two unpaid half days of leave to attend antenatal appointments. This new right is welcome, but does the Minister agree that the Bill is perhaps unnecessarily complex and prescriptive on this new right? It sets out in primary legislation that the right may be exercised on only two occasions and for a maximum of six and a half hours on each occasion. Would it not be better to provide fathers with a right to reasonable time off for these purposes and for any limits to be set out in regulations?

Finally, can the Minister comment on the proposal made by the Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Committee on women in the workplace that employees should be entitled to ask for flexible working from the outset, and not only after they have been in a job for six months? Does he not agree that the Bill misses an opportunity to encourage employers, including perhaps the Civil Service, to advertise jobs on a flexible or part-time basis, without which many talented people could be forced out of the labour market?

The Working Families recent survey of 1,000 parents of disabled children found that 27% of respondents were not in paid work, and more than 80% of those had given up work to care for their disabled child. Once out of work it is very hard to get back in. More than half the parents surveyed had been out of work for at least six years. Their talents and skills are lost to their employers. Their families are left poorer and the economy loses. That has led to suggestions for adjustment leave to support parents and carers through a crisis so that they can stay in work and out of poverty. I would be grateful if the Minister could comment on that idea.