Source · Select Committees · Petitions Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Rejected
Paragraph: 80
Adoptive parents and their children have faced uniquely challenging situations without the access to the...
Recommendation
Adoptive parents and their children have faced uniquely challenging situations without the access to the professional and informal support that they need. These children are among the most vulnerable in society. In the most serious situations, we’ve heard that the negative impacts of Covid-19 could lead to an increase in adoption breakdown which would be devastating for parents and children. The 60 The impact of Covid-19 on maternity and parental leave extension of adoption leave with pay would give these new parents the opportunity to access some of the support they’ve missed out on as lockdown restrictions are eased. It will also give them valuable time to establish important routines and to bond with their children, as well as time to settle their children into new childcare or schools and introduce them to their wider adoptive families. The Government should extend adoption leave and pay for adoptive parents who have been affected by the pandemic for three months.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government rejected the recommendation to extend adoption leave and pay, stating that existing entitlements of 52 weeks leave and 39 weeks pay, along with other flexible working options, are already generous and sufficient for new parents.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
80
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government · verbatim extract
Rejected
The Government places great value on individuals who come forward to take on the challenging but rewarding role of being an adoptive parent. We also understand how crucial it is that these parents have time off from work to settle their child into their new home and form a bond. This is why the arrangements for employed adopters broadly mirror the arrangements for employed birth parents. Since April 2014, the primary adopter has had a ‘day 1’ right to 52 weeks’ Adoption Leave. The primary adopter is also eligible for 39 weeks of Statutory Adoption Pay, which is enhanced to 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings (with no upper limit) in the first 6 weeks of pay in line with the arrangements for birth mothers. On top of this entitlement to Leave and Pay, employed adopters can benefit from Annual Leave and unpaid parental leave to extend the time they have off work. They may also make a request for flexible working allowing them to balance their home and work commitments. As with Maternity Leave and Pay, the Government believes this entitlement to Adoption Leave and Pay is generous and allows enough time for the new parent to bond with their child.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗