Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 18
18
Acknowledged
Include kinship carers within the statutory paid parental leave system, considering costs and benefits.
Conclusion
The Government’s review must include consideration of the needs of kinship carers, with a view to including them in the paid parental leave system. This should include consideration of the costs and wider benefits of implementing statutory paid leave for kinship carers, in line with provision for parents by adoption and surrogacy. (Recommendation, Paragraph 102)
Government Response Summary
The government states that the parental leave and pay review aims to reset the system, considering objectives like economic growth, women's labour market outcomes, and fairness, and will gather evidence to inform a future roadmap, but does not explicitly commit to including kinship carers in the paid parental leave system.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The government recognises the unique opportunity of the parental leave and pay review to reset our approach to parental leave and pay. Parental leave and pay play an important role in helping working parents to balance their work and home lives, including ensuring equal participation in the labour market. Economic growth through labour market participation is one of the objectives that we will consider the current system and the case for future reform against. This includes considering whether a potential reform supports economic growth by enabling more parents to stay in work and advance in their careers after starting a family. Additionally, we will consider whether the parental leave and pay system both improves women’s labour market outcomes, and tackles the gender pay gap and “motherhood penalty”. Throughout the review fairness and equality, ensuring that we build a fair system, will be one of the three cross-cutting considerations. Data is routinely published on the take up of parental leave by gender and the latest statistics have been published via the parental leave review in a supporting evidence annex and HMRC data tables. Through the parental leave and pay review’s call for evidence the government will build up a bank of evidence to further our understanding of the impacts of the current system. At the completion of the review the government will publish a roadmap and set of findings where relevant data supporting further action will be set out. 16