BBC omits business opposition to Labour paternity leave plan
Feb 9, 2015 8:22:01 GMT
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Post by mk2015 on Feb 9, 2015 8:22:01 GMT
The BBC report in full reads:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31253409
while the Telegraph reports:
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ed-miliband/11399214/Ed-Miliband-pledges-to-double-paternity-leave-to-four-weeks.html
A future Labour government would double the amount of paid paternity leave available to new fathers from two to four weeks, Ed Miliband has announced.
The Labour leader has also pledged to increase statutory paternity pay by more than £120 a week to £260 a week.
He said the £150m move would be paid for by a fall in the tax credits bill as families got more free childcare.
A new system of shared parental leave championed by the Liberal Democrats comes into force in April.
The Lib Dems are also proposing, in future, a month's worth of paternity leave after a child's birth on a "use it or lose it" basis.
Since 2003, new fathers have been entitled to two weeks' paid leave if they meet certain criteria, such as having worked for their employer for a defined length of time.
But Labour says only about 55% of new fathers take the full two weeks off because of financial pressures forcing them to return to work.
Ed Miliband said current entitlements are "outdated" and giving fathers an "independent right" to a month off to care for their children would help 400,000 families give their children the "best start in life they can".
The Labour leader has pledged to substantially increase rates of statutory pay, currently set at £138.18 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is less.
'Crucial weeks'
Under Labour, the amount fathers would receive would rise to at least £260 a week, the equivalent of a forty-hour week on the minimum wage.
"At the same time as women are under pressure in their careers, more fathers want to play a hands-on role in childcare, particularly in those first crucial weeks of a child's life," Mr Miliband will say in a speech on Monday.
"Thanks to the last Labour government, fathers have two weeks' paid paternity leave. Millions of families have benefited with parents saying this has helped them support each other, share caring responsibilities and bond with their children.
"But the money isn't great and too many Dads don't take up their rights because they feel they have to go back so they can provide for their family."
The opposition says the move will be funded by a reduction in the amount of tax credits paid out to working families of three and four year olds as they take advantage of a planned increase in state-funded childcare from 15 to 25 hours a week.
Research from the IPPR think tank, cited by Labour, suggests offering four weeks paid paternity leave will cost £150m a year, assuming take-up rises from 55% to 70%.
'Think big'
The opposition says research by the House of Commons library indicates a fall in existing government spending on tax credits, to pay for childcare, will raise "significantly more than £150m", more than covering the cost of the initiative.
Mr Miliband said the government's proposed system of shared parental leave, which will allow a couple to divide up 50 weeks of leave between them and 37 weeks of shared statutory pay - at existing levels - from this April will have limited appeal.
But in a speech on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will urge new parents to "embrace" the flexibility offered by the new arrangements, in which parents will be free to split their leave in three separate blocks instead of taking it all in one go.
He will say this is part of a package of measures which could help to get a million more women into the workforce by 2020.
"My challenge to you is to embrace change. Embrace shared parental leave. Embrace flexible working. Close the gender pay gap," he will say.
"We need to think big. We need to do things differently. But, as any successful entrepreneur knows, that is exactly what it takes to succeed."
The Conservatives have supported greater flexibility in parental leave, arguing that all future spending policies need to pass a "families test".
The Labour leader has also pledged to increase statutory paternity pay by more than £120 a week to £260 a week.
He said the £150m move would be paid for by a fall in the tax credits bill as families got more free childcare.
A new system of shared parental leave championed by the Liberal Democrats comes into force in April.
The Lib Dems are also proposing, in future, a month's worth of paternity leave after a child's birth on a "use it or lose it" basis.
Since 2003, new fathers have been entitled to two weeks' paid leave if they meet certain criteria, such as having worked for their employer for a defined length of time.
But Labour says only about 55% of new fathers take the full two weeks off because of financial pressures forcing them to return to work.
Ed Miliband said current entitlements are "outdated" and giving fathers an "independent right" to a month off to care for their children would help 400,000 families give their children the "best start in life they can".
The Labour leader has pledged to substantially increase rates of statutory pay, currently set at £138.18 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is less.
'Crucial weeks'
Under Labour, the amount fathers would receive would rise to at least £260 a week, the equivalent of a forty-hour week on the minimum wage.
"At the same time as women are under pressure in their careers, more fathers want to play a hands-on role in childcare, particularly in those first crucial weeks of a child's life," Mr Miliband will say in a speech on Monday.
"Thanks to the last Labour government, fathers have two weeks' paid paternity leave. Millions of families have benefited with parents saying this has helped them support each other, share caring responsibilities and bond with their children.
"But the money isn't great and too many Dads don't take up their rights because they feel they have to go back so they can provide for their family."
The opposition says the move will be funded by a reduction in the amount of tax credits paid out to working families of three and four year olds as they take advantage of a planned increase in state-funded childcare from 15 to 25 hours a week.
Research from the IPPR think tank, cited by Labour, suggests offering four weeks paid paternity leave will cost £150m a year, assuming take-up rises from 55% to 70%.
'Think big'
The opposition says research by the House of Commons library indicates a fall in existing government spending on tax credits, to pay for childcare, will raise "significantly more than £150m", more than covering the cost of the initiative.
Mr Miliband said the government's proposed system of shared parental leave, which will allow a couple to divide up 50 weeks of leave between them and 37 weeks of shared statutory pay - at existing levels - from this April will have limited appeal.
But in a speech on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will urge new parents to "embrace" the flexibility offered by the new arrangements, in which parents will be free to split their leave in three separate blocks instead of taking it all in one go.
He will say this is part of a package of measures which could help to get a million more women into the workforce by 2020.
"My challenge to you is to embrace change. Embrace shared parental leave. Embrace flexible working. Close the gender pay gap," he will say.
"We need to think big. We need to do things differently. But, as any successful entrepreneur knows, that is exactly what it takes to succeed."
The Conservatives have supported greater flexibility in parental leave, arguing that all future spending policies need to pass a "families test".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31253409
while the Telegraph reports:
Ed Miliband will announce plans to give new fathers a month of paid paternity leave at nearly double the current rate in a move which will open a new front in Labour's conflict with businesses.
The Labour leader wants to increase the amount of time men spend with their newborns from the current two weeks so they can enjoy more of the first "crucial" days of their child's lives.
He will say that a Labour government would bring paternity pay into line with the minimum wage, from £138.18 to at least £260 a week.
However, the move was heavily criticised by business leaders who said that it amounted to a "tax" that would inhibit growth.
It comes amid signs of a shadow cabinet split after repeated criticism by some of Britain's most successful business leaders of Ed Miliband and the Labour Party.
On Saturday Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, said that Labout became "too close to big business" under Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister.
However Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary, said on Sunday that Labour is "furiously, passionately, aggressively pro-business".
John Longworth, the Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "The father's month proposal amounts to a tax on business.
"Although well-meaning, proposals such as this create very real costs for businesses, which can in turn lead to reduced productivity, reduced growth and fewer jobs.
"It also raises the spectre of a dad being off for a month, returning to work for a couple of weeks, and then asking for shared parental leave as soon as he is eligible - which could be hugely disruptive to small and mid-sized firms whose success depends on the talents and contributions of each employee.
"Expansions of parental leave may win votes, but come at a real cost to business. For that reason, they must be assessed as part of the wider costs to business by any future government - not simply added to an already high cost base."
...
The Labour leader wants to increase the amount of time men spend with their newborns from the current two weeks so they can enjoy more of the first "crucial" days of their child's lives.
He will say that a Labour government would bring paternity pay into line with the minimum wage, from £138.18 to at least £260 a week.
However, the move was heavily criticised by business leaders who said that it amounted to a "tax" that would inhibit growth.
It comes amid signs of a shadow cabinet split after repeated criticism by some of Britain's most successful business leaders of Ed Miliband and the Labour Party.
On Saturday Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, said that Labout became "too close to big business" under Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister.
However Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary, said on Sunday that Labour is "furiously, passionately, aggressively pro-business".
John Longworth, the Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "The father's month proposal amounts to a tax on business.
"Although well-meaning, proposals such as this create very real costs for businesses, which can in turn lead to reduced productivity, reduced growth and fewer jobs.
"It also raises the spectre of a dad being off for a month, returning to work for a couple of weeks, and then asking for shared parental leave as soon as he is eligible - which could be hugely disruptive to small and mid-sized firms whose success depends on the talents and contributions of each employee.
"Expansions of parental leave may win votes, but come at a real cost to business. For that reason, they must be assessed as part of the wider costs to business by any future government - not simply added to an already high cost base."
...
