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Parental Needs

21. Mr. Win Griffiths (Bridgend) (Lab): What representative groups she has met in the past three months to discuss the needs of parents. [219483]

The Minister for Women and Equality (Ms Patricia Hewitt): I regularly meet a wide range of representative organisations to discuss the needs of parents.

Mr. Griffiths: I thank my right hon. Friend for the work that she does in this field, but has she had an opportunity to look at the report from the Relationships Foundation entitled "Keeping Time for Children", which was compiled by the National Centre for Social Research? It shows that parents now have to spend much more time at work, and therefore away from home. Will she meet foundation representatives to discuss the report and find ways to lessen the pressure on parents to work extra hours to make ends meet?

Ms Hewitt: My hon. Friend makes an extremely important point. I have not had an opportunity to have a look at that report, but I shall do so with interest, and of course I should be delighted to meet representatives from the foundation to which he referred. I completely agree that we must do even more to make it easier for parents to manage the stress incurred by making a living and bringing up children. Many people have to care for elderly parents as well. That is exactly why the consultation that I launched on Monday is looking at how we can improve maternity leave by, for example, extending paid leave by another three months and making it possible for that leave to be transferred to the father. Another of our aims is to extend flexible working hours. I am glad to say that the Government's implementation of the flexible working hours legislation and the working time directive means that Britain's long working hours, which rose inexorably for over a decade, have fallen over the past three or four years.

Mrs. Eleanor Laing (Epping Forest) (Con): I welcome the Secretary of State's action: after eight years of this Government, she has announced yet another consultation process, but at least she is going in the right direction. Does she agree that parents—and especially mothers—do not need to be patronised by central Government and told what they have to do to look after their children and balance the difficulties of a working life and parenthood? Many women in Britain today in effect do two jobs. Does she agree that those women should be thanked, supported and given the flexibility demanded by the fact that every family is different? Should not they be able to choose their own arrangements for child care and the care of elderly relatives?

Ms Hewitt: It is precisely because we want to help parents give their children what they see to be the best start in life that this Government have doubled maternity pay since 1997, raising it from £55 to £104. We have also doubled paid maternity leave, which lasted for three months when we were elected but is now six months. We intend to increase that to nine months by 2007 and to 12 months over the next five years. That is also why we introduced the law on flexible working, although I regret that some Opposition Members said that that was just
 
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another burden on business and did not recognise how crucial it was for parents. It is why we have also extended nursery provision. Parents can now ensure that their three and four-year-old children have nursery education. Those are the sorts of practical measures that give parents choice and support. At least on this side of the House, we believe in action not words.

Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab): Many of the poorest families in my constituency find that they have two main needs. First of all, they need a few extra hours in the day, but I know that my right hon. Friend can do nothing about that. However, their second need is a decent income, so that they can look after their children properly. The recent increase in the national minimum wage will make a dramatic difference for many of my constituents, but how can we make sure that the other forms of support available for poorer families get through to them?

Ms Hewitt: My hon. Friend is right about the minimum wage and I am delighted, as I know he is, that, thanks to our strong economy, we were able to announce last Friday that it will indeed rise to over £5 an hour this October. That will be a huge help to hard-working families and we both know that, alongside the working tax credit and the child tax credit, the minimum wage is delivering enormous practical help to low-income families in our constituencies and across the country.

Equal Pay

22. Tony Lloyd (Manchester, Central) (Lab): What steps she plans to take towards closing the differential in pay between men and women. [219484]

The Deputy Minister for Women and Equality (Jacqui Smith): We set up the women and work commission to recommend action to tackle the causes of the gender pay gap, and I look forward to its interim report later this month. But the Government have led by example and I am proud of the fact that all 88 Government Departments and agencies have completed equal pay reviews.

Tony Lloyd: My right hon. Friend will be aware that the    chair of the women and work commission, Margaret   Prosser, recently talked forthrightly about the undervaluing of the work that women do. This is an issue in both the private and public sectors, the latter having real implications for the Government. None of us expects the problem to be resolved overnight, but are the Government prepared to commit themselves to ensuring that we put the necessary resources into achieving a narrowing in the gender pay gap?

Jacqui Smith: Absolutely, and my hon. Friend is right: we need to address not just occupational segregation but the value that we place on jobs that have traditionally been done by women. Of course, we have already taken action in the public sector, such as the national health service's "Agenda for Change" initiative. Instead of depending on traditional views of work and the associated pay, we have taken a proper look at what such work involves and remunerated it accordingly. In doing so, we have of course put considerable investment into the health service—indeed, we have a responsibility to do that across the public services—and I give my hon. Friend a commitment that that will continue to happen.

 
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Business of the House

12.32 pm

Mr. Oliver Heald (North-East Hertfordshire) (Con): Will the Leader of the House please give the business for next week?

The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Peter Hain): The business of the House for next week is as follows:

Monday 7 March—Proceedings on the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Bill, followed by motion to take note of various European documents relating to future European Union finances, followed by motions relating to the House of Commons Members' Fund.

Tuesday 8 March—Remaining stages of the Road Safety Bill.

Wednesday 9 March—Estimates [2nd allotted day] (1st part). There will be a debate on the future of the BBC, followed by consideration of Lords Amendments.

Thursday 10 March—Proceedings on the Consolidated Fund (Appropriation Bill) followed by, if necessary, consideration of Lords Amendments.

Followed by a motion to suspend support for Members who have chosen not to take their seats, followed by, if necessary, consideration of Lords Amendments.

Friday 11 March—The House will not be sitting.

The provisional business for the following week will be:

Monday 14 March—Second Reading of the Education Bill [Lords].

Tuesday 15 March—Second Reading of the Inquiries Bill [Lords].

Wednesday 16 March—My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will open his Budget statement.

Thursday 17 March—Continuation of the Budget debate.

Friday 18 March—Private Members' Bills.

Mr. Heald: I thank the Leader of the House for the business. Is there now no prospect before the Easter recess of a debate on foreign affairs, so that we can discuss the situation in the middle east and Africa? Will he remind the Chancellor ahead of his Budget of the tax changes promised when the Civil Partnership Bill was debated? Can he confirm that those promises will be honoured?

Will Monday's European debate provide an opportunity to take stock of the Lisbon strategy and of the growth and stability pact, both of which appear to be in trouble if the latest news from Germany is true? If not, could we have a statement on those issues?

When can we debate today's damning Education and Skills Select Committee report on the so-called UK e-university? It shows that only 900 students have taken part in this £50 million project—a whopping £40,000 per student. It also finds that there was inadequate research, a skewed focus and a failure to work successfully with the private sector. So what did Ministers do? They paid bonuses to the senior executives. Should not Ministers have done their homework before throwing vast sums of
 
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public money at a project that nobody wanted? Is that not yet another piece of Government incompetence to rank with the millennium dome, the Child Support Agency computer and the tax credits administrative fiasco? The two computer projects that I have mentioned were the work of EDS, to which the Government have this week given a £4 billion contract to supply defence computers. Can we have a debate on the rewards of failure, so that we can seek serious assurances about that massive contract?

After yesterday's Appeal Court ruling about religious clothing in schools, can we expect a statement about the full effect of the ruling and the guidance that will now be given to schools?

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