Work and Families Bill

I thank the Minister for his reply and I thank the noble Earl, Lord Listowel, for making a very good point, which I wish I had made, that sometimes fathers feel displaced after the birth of a child as well as older brothers or sisters. If a father is really involved with a pregnancy as it goes along, and in all the preparations for it, he is much less likely to feel displaced within the family after the baby is born. That is a very good point and I thank him for it. The Minister says that it might be better to have this done on a best practice basis, rather than on a statutory basis. He may very well be right, but I hope that the fact that we have aired these views in Committee puts that extra pressure on the best employers to continue doing what they do, and on employers who have not considered the benefits of allowing such time off to consider how beneficial it would be for the well-being of the father-to-be. In the mean time, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Clause 13 [Annual leave]: