New deal for parents

Mothers and fathers of children under five will be offered state payments of up to £150 a week to take parental leave under government proposals designed to make Britain's workplaces more family-friendly.

Every parent will be offered up to 13 paid weeks off work at an estimated cost of £500m a year in a move designed to be a centrepiece of Labour's policy on the family in the manifesto for the next general election.

The trade and industry secretary, Stephen Byers, is backing proposals drawn up by the Labour MP Ruth Kelly on behalf of the 101-strong Labour parliamentary women's group.

Mr Byers, who is in charge of government policy on maternity pay and parental leave, said: "This is a significant piece of work which will inform our consideration of this important area."

Government ministers are to start lobbying business to persuade them that paid parental leave will be good for firms, leading to a more contented workforce and helping them attract and keep key staff.

While ministers are keen to maintain business support for the government, they believe the scheme would help the government appeal to women voters who backed Tony Blair in the 1997 election but have since started to have second thoughts.

At a Downing Street seminar last month, Labour party strategists argued that Labour needs to trump William Hague's appeal to so-called "Florida woman".

Ms Kelly's blueprint - costed by the accountants KPMG and due to be published in a Fabian pamphlet next month - has found favour with Downing Street, where the expected arrival of Cherie Blair's fourth child next month has sharpened the debate about parental leave, and is being strongly pressed by Labour's women ministers.

The government introduced an unpaid scheme for parental leave last December, but projections indicate that, without payment, only 2% of men and 35% of women would take advantage of the offer of time off.

However, a poll conducted by ICM and sponsored by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust found that 97% of the 729 parents questioned would be "very interested" or "interested" in a paid scheme, and that the amount of time taken off work would increase with the generosity of the scheme.

Parents would take 1.53 weeks' leave on average at £75 a week, but this would rise to 5.1 weeks at £150 a week. Mothers said they would take more time off than fathers, but among men the scheme appealed most to those on the lowest incomes.

Ms Kelly said: "I would argue for the full £150 per week for 13 weeks. It would be affordable and have a huge impact on take-up, particularly among fathers. It's a very simple scheme and could create a climate which changes the culture.

"It would allow parents to spend more time with children and juggle the responsibilities of an increasingly complex working life."

The two ministers for women, Lady Jay and Tessa Jowell, and equal opportunities minister Margaret Hodge, are in favour of the proposal. Ms Jowell said yesterday: "Parental leave is one of the most important issues, both for labour market policy and family policy, for people in Britain today."

Pressure groups last night urged Mr Byers to take the Rowntree findings seriously. Sarah Jackson, co-chief executive of Parents at Work, said: "We know from parents who call our helpline that they cannot afford to take this leave unless it is paid. We talk to a lot of low income families who are desperate to take time off to spend with their children but cannot do so."

Christine Gowdridge, director of the Maternity Alliance, which coordinates a national coalition of campaigners under the Parental Leave Campaign, said the Rowntree research was "one more brick in the wall of ammunition in favour of paid leave".

However, the CBI gave the proposals a cool reception. It said that a survey of its members found 72% of businesses "very worried" about parental leave, ranking it as one of their leading concerns.

John Cridland, the CBI director of human resources policy, said: "Businesses have had enough of new regulations. We cannot cope with more and the more we are pressed the more negative we will get."

The ICM survey found that 40% of voters - and 43% of women - questioned would be more likely to vote for a party that promoted paid parental leave, while only 4% said they would be less likely to do so.