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| Paternity leave and pay 'should be doubled' | Paternity leave and pay 'should be doubled' |
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| Statutory paternity leave should be twice as long and paid at almost twice the present rate to encourage more fathers to spend time with their newborn children, a thinktank has said. | Statutory paternity leave should be twice as long and paid at almost twice the present rate to encourage more fathers to spend time with their newborn children, a thinktank has said. |
| The proposal is one of a number to be unveiled by the centre-left thinktank the IPPR in what is being billed as a groundbreaking report, The Condition of Britain, designed to examine the social issues that have left Britain fractured. | The proposal is one of a number to be unveiled by the centre-left thinktank the IPPR in what is being billed as a groundbreaking report, The Condition of Britain, designed to examine the social issues that have left Britain fractured. |
| The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, will launch the report on Thursday, endorsing its themes, but will not embrace all its proposals. | The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, will launch the report on Thursday, endorsing its themes, but will not embrace all its proposals. |
| The IPPR proposes that fathers should automatically qualify for four weeks' leave after the birth, paid at the minimum wage. | The IPPR proposes that fathers should automatically qualify for four weeks' leave after the birth, paid at the minimum wage. |
| The cost to the taxpayer is likely to be £150m in 2015-16 and it would ensure that up to 400,000 fathers each year got at least £252.40 a week. | |
| The thinktank said one of the main reasons only 55% took off the available fortnight was because they felt they could not afford the loss of pay. Under existing rules fathers qualify for a statutory £138.18 a week, equivalent to £3.45 an hour for a 40-hour week, with employers encouraged to make up the shortfall. | The thinktank said one of the main reasons only 55% took off the available fortnight was because they felt they could not afford the loss of pay. Under existing rules fathers qualify for a statutory £138.18 a week, equivalent to £3.45 an hour for a 40-hour week, with employers encouraged to make up the shortfall. |
| Bringing the taxpayer-funded contribution up to minimum wage level would increase takeup to about 70%, the thinktank estimates | Bringing the taxpayer-funded contribution up to minimum wage level would increase takeup to about 70%, the thinktank estimates |
| Discussing the proposals on Father's Day, the IPPR's senior research fellow, Kayte Lawton, said: "New parents need time away from work to care for their young children, and to strengthen their relationship with each other at what can be a hugely enjoyable but also very stressful time. | Discussing the proposals on Father's Day, the IPPR's senior research fellow, Kayte Lawton, said: "New parents need time away from work to care for their young children, and to strengthen their relationship with each other at what can be a hugely enjoyable but also very stressful time. |
| "However, this is often difficult for fathers because they have limited entitlements to paid leave, and so they often assume the role of breadwinner while their partner is on maternity leave. | "However, this is often difficult for fathers because they have limited entitlements to paid leave, and so they often assume the role of breadwinner while their partner is on maternity leave. |
| "Fathers who take more than a few days off around the birth of their child are more likely to be actively involved in raising their child than those who do not. Fathers' greater involvement in family life can make it easier for mothers to return to work after taking maternity leave, which helps to raise the family's income and lessen the impact of motherhood on women's careers." | "Fathers who take more than a few days off around the birth of their child are more likely to be actively involved in raising their child than those who do not. Fathers' greater involvement in family life can make it easier for mothers to return to work after taking maternity leave, which helps to raise the family's income and lessen the impact of motherhood on women's careers." |
| New rules come into force in April next year allowing both parents to share the 52 weeks of leave previously only available to mothers. | New rules come into force in April next year allowing both parents to share the 52 weeks of leave previously only available to mothers. |
| In an interview this week, the shadow children's minister, Lucy Powell, warned that passing laws was not enough to ensure new dads took time off work when a child was born. | In an interview this week, the shadow children's minister, Lucy Powell, warned that passing laws was not enough to ensure new dads took time off work when a child was born. |
| She said young fathers had the "worst of all worlds" because they were expected to share childcare responsibilities at home without the support at work. | She said young fathers had the "worst of all worlds" because they were expected to share childcare responsibilities at home without the support at work. |
| The IPPR report will also call for a extension of childcare so free care is extended to four-year-olds and the number of weeks rises from 36 to 48. | The IPPR report will also call for a extension of childcare so free care is extended to four-year-olds and the number of weeks rises from 36 to 48. |
| Parents of three- and four-year-olds can currently get 15 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks a year. | Parents of three- and four-year-olds can currently get 15 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks a year. |
| The coalition has also introduced a tax break so the state pays 20% of childcare costs up to a value of £2,000 a year. | The coalition has also introduced a tax break so the state pays 20% of childcare costs up to a value of £2,000 a year. |
| Labour has promised to extend free childcare to 25 hours a week for two- and three-year-olds. | Labour has promised to extend free childcare to 25 hours a week for two- and three-year-olds. |
| Jon Cruddas, the Labour MP heading the party's policy review, praised the IPPR report, saying it would tackle issues such as "more, better-quality childcare; early years intervention; investing in preventing social problems; getting people off welfare and into work; building the houses we need; creating access to affordable credit; developing a new system of care for older people; and establishing the principle of contribution in our welfare system". | Jon Cruddas, the Labour MP heading the party's policy review, praised the IPPR report, saying it would tackle issues such as "more, better-quality childcare; early years intervention; investing in preventing social problems; getting people off welfare and into work; building the houses we need; creating access to affordable credit; developing a new system of care for older people; and establishing the principle of contribution in our welfare system". |
| He said it would define social policy in the coming decade, and not just on the left. "David Cameron's 'big society' has failed and the report shows why. It marks the most radical development in social democratic thinking since the 1994 Commission for Social Justice helped to define the New Labour project." | He said it would define social policy in the coming decade, and not just on the left. "David Cameron's 'big society' has failed and the report shows why. It marks the most radical development in social democratic thinking since the 1994 Commission for Social Justice helped to define the New Labour project." |