APPENDIX 18
Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from The Children's Society (PL 19)
Further to the announcement of the above-mentioned
Inquiry, I am writing to express The Children's Society's interest
and to offer to provide oral evidence to the Inquiry.
As a national voluntary childcare organisation,
with over 90 projects across England and Wales, The Children's
Society works extensively with children and families. One of our
main areas of work is with children under eight and their families
offering support, advice and activities. We were the first charity
to set up Family Centres where we carry out a wide range of group,
family and individual work either at the centres or in homes,
in local refuges or community organisations. As part of our work
on parenting, we launched in 1994 "Education for Parenthood"
a highly praised pack to provide a grounding for school students
and other young people in understanding what it means to be a
parent.
We warmly welcome the introduction of parental
leave and see it as an essential part of providing children with
the best start in life. We are concerned, however, that this opportunity
should be available to all children, not just those whose parents
can afford it. As members of the Parental Leave campaign and through
representations to the Treasury we have argued for parental leave
to be paid. Consequently we appreciate the Committee's forthcoming
inquiry into the matter and hope to be able to contribute to it
the experience of our projects and the people who use them.
Through our work with parents and their young
children we are convinced of the value of early bonds between
very young children and both their parents and we are eager to
see this opportunity extended to the parents of all children.
Experience from overseas clearly indicates that where parental
leave is not paid the take-up rate is much lower, hence our concern
that parental leave should be paid and actively promoted. We are
particularly aware of the needs of parents using our projects,
many of whom are in very low paid work in financial circumstances
so tight that it is impossible for them to take unpaid leave.
Particularly in need of paid parental leave
are the young teenage parents our projects work with who are very
isolated and reliant on their partner. They find themselves in
private rented accommodation or re-housed with no family in the
area, no community networks and not knowing how to access the
resources available in the area. Furthermore the accommodation
space is tight making it difficult for relatives to come and stay
and provide help. Consequently, these teenage mothers (and their
children) are enormously dependent on the father for support and
practical assistance; and yet he is at work for most of the day
and would be entirely unable to take unpaid leave.
As a national organisation representing the
needs of children, we would argue not only that parental leave
should be paid but that it should be paid to the parents of all
children. It is about giving each child the best start in life
irrespective of their parents income or the assistance afforded
by the state.
The Children's Society has provided evidence
in the past to the Social Security Select Committee and valued
the opportunity to communicate directly the concerns of children,
young people, and their families. We hope to do so again, either
orally or in written form.
Natalie Cronin
28 May 1999
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