Work and Families Bill

I join the hon. Member for Epping Forest (Mrs. Laing) in thanking the Secretary of State and the two Ministers—despite their failure to provide the regulations on time—for the way in which they have conducted our debates here and in Committee. I also thank the hon. Member for Epping Forest and other members of the Committee, including the hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Khan). I have not been on the receiving end of too many of his lashings. The Committee stage was conducted in good heart. I am pleased to confirm to the Secretary of State that the Liberal Democrats are fully signed up to the progressive consensus that he mentioned earlier. I am delighted that on this occasion the Government are part of that progressive consensus: that is not always the case nowadays. The Bill contains important measures relating to increases in maternity leave and pay, paternity leave and adoption leave. It is remarkable how long it has taken us to acknowledge the importance of giving parents time with children whom they adopt. The Bill also extends flexible working, and facilitates the provision of extra paid leave. It is a good package that recognises the changing nature of the workplace. There has been a transformation—a revolution—in the workplace over the past two decades, since the days when it was dominated by males—indeed, fathers. Women were denied many rights, and did not have the opportunity to become economically active. The Bill also accepts the economic case for enabling people to stay at work, and to balance that with family commitments. For both those reasons, the Bill is very good. It makes the point that there is no conflict between profitability and family-friendly policies. From the very start of its existence, a company in my constituency adopted a culture of facilitating the employment of people with family responsibilities.