Parental Leave Review Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateMichael Wheeler
Main Page: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)Department Debates - View all Michael Wheeler's debates with the Department for Business and Trade
(3 days, 16 hours ago)
Commons ChamberThe hon. Member makes an important point. We will of course be taking representations from all interested parties. A call for evidence is now live and will be up for a period of eight weeks, and we encourage any bodies that have important things to say to feed those in as part of the process.
Alongside the Government’s actions on increasing the provision of affordable, available and accessible childcare, I strongly welcome this review as a real step forward. Does the Minister agree that, for many, the complexities of the system form a real barrier to accessing it, and that for low-paid workers in particular the provision of unpaid leave makes it simply unaffordable? Will he give a commitment that the review will have at its heart true system accessibility so that people can take proper advantage of it and benefit along with their children?
My hon. Friend, as a new father himself, will know about the system. He rightly referred to the complexity of the system and the lack of availability and opportunity, particularly for those in low-paid occupations, as well as those who are not directly employed. Those are all things that we will be considering as part of the review.