Work and Families Bill

It is a real pleasure to speak on Third Reading to a united Chamber. There was, in fact, a broadly united Standing Committee, too. Some on the Opposition Benches would, given the new leadership of the Conservative party, like to forget the recent past, and particularly their voting record. The Bill needs to be considered in the context of a journey that began in 1997. Although the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb) was right to say that most good employment practices are not rocket science, the reality is that for those employers who do not get there by themselves, we need prescription in the law. Secondly, the law and regulations help to change attitudes so that employers, parents and carers change over time. It gives me great pleasure to welcome the main thrust of the Work and Families Bill, which will extend paid maternity and adoption leave. It will also extend the right to request flexible working to carers of adults. It will help fathers to play a role in their child’s upbringing if the mother returns to work. It will also make things easier for employers—a point often forgotten in Report stage debates. It will make it easier for employers to manage the administration of rights. The Bill will also include powers to deliver and ensure that all workers are entitled to four weeks of statutory leave in addition to the eight days for bank holidays. It is a great pleasure to welcome the Bill, but it is worth emphasising that it is part of a jigsaw. Other parts of that are the work we have done on tax credits and child tax credits—helping hard-working families and those who are least well off. Other parts of the jigsaw are the work we have done to extend maternity leave to 26 weeks, not just benefiting mothers and families, but benefiting employers by facilitating more continuity and less staff turnover, with mothers given longer maternity leave. We introduced two weeks’ paternity leave. Other pieces of the family-friendly jigsaw are the introduction of three months’ adoption leave. We must not forget the right to request flexible working, which has benefited 1 million parents across the country and many hundreds in Tooting. We also, of course, in another piece of the jigsaw, increased maternity pay, which was as low as £55 in 1997. Part-time workers now have the same rights as full-time workers, particularly benefiting women and ethnic minority employees, who were disproportionately part-time workers. Other pieces of the jigsaw are the introduction of four weeks of paid leave, which will include the eight pubic holidays. Finally, another piece of the jigsaw is the introduction of the national minimum wage—