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BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Paternity leave in UK is outdated and unequal, say MPs
The UK's statutory parental leave system is "one of the worst in the developed world" and has "fundamental flaws", a group of cross-party MPs has said.A report published today by the Women and Equalities Committee said paternity leave rules "entrench outdated gender stereotypes". It added that "bold" action is needed, but warned any changes would require significant investment.A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said the government is carrying out a review to see how it best can support working families. Introduced in 2003, statutory paternity leave allows most new fathers and second parents in the UK to take up to two weeks off applies to all partners, regardless of gender, after the birth, surrogacy or adoption of a eligible receive £187.18 a week or 90% of their average earnings, whichever is works out as less than 50% of the National Living Wage and fathers are ineligible for statutory paternity leave if they are self-employed or earn less than £123 a week. The report says this is "completely out of kilter with the cost of living" and suggests the government should consider increasing paternity pay to 90% or more and paternity leave to six weeks in a phased recommends both aspects should be done during this how paternity leave has not changed noticeably since its introduction more than two decades ago, the report says: "We now have one of the worst statutory leave offers for fathers and other parents in the developed world."In Spain, new dads can take 16 weeks off work at full rules introduced in France in 2021 mean working dads can now spend 28 days at home while being in Sweden are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave, with 90 days reserved for fathers. As part of Your Voice, Your BBC News we are covering the stories that matter most to you and several dads have been in touch about paternity Yeates, from Haverhill, Suffolk, says it was "horrible" having to return to work just two weeks after his son, Luca, was born in September he says the birth of his son was "the happiest moment of my life", he soon felt as though he was leaving his partner "in the lurch"."There would be times when my partner was struggling and I'd have to leave to go to work," he said."I felt like I was letting her down and letting my son down."James works for the NHS, who topped up his statutory paternity pay to 100% of his usual salary, but feels as though he was prevented from being "a more present parent".The WEC report also looked at shared parental leave, which was introduced in 2014 and allows parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay after the birth or adoption of a the review found many families considered it "unnecessarily complex" and "burdensome".It is used in fewer than 2% of all births and a government review from 2023 suggests almost half (45%) of all dads were not even aware shared parental leave was an report has been released on the eve of the world's first dad of fathers are expected to picket outside the Department for Business and Trade in London on Wednesday to call for an overhaul of the UK's parental leave policies. New research by The Dad Shift and Shaun Davies MP suggests that just 3% of money spent on parental leave in the UK supports fathers and non-birthing provided by employers to HMRC shows that £3.3bn was spent on statutory maternity pay in 2023/ the same period, £69m was spent on paternity pay and £34.4m statutory shared parental Gabriel, co-founder of the Dad Shift, said paternity leave laws mean dads often have to go back to work before their two-week paternity leave ends."The pie is small and the crumbs left for dads and non-birthing parents are honestly pretty pitiful," he Jones, chief executive of the Fatherhood Institute, said she welcomed many of the findings of the report, but said "families shouldn't have to wait until the next Parliament for this to come in".The government said its forthcoming review, which is due before mid-July, would look at all current parental leave entitlements.A spokesperson added it is already in the process of ensuring dads no longer need to be employed for 26 weeks to be entitled to paternity leave."This government is committed to making sure parents receive the best possible support to balance their work and home lives," they said. Additional reporting from George Walker.
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Here is how California Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to address a $12 billion budget shortfall
California would scale back state Medicaid coverage for immigrants without legal status, eliminate coverage for certain weight loss drugs and use money from a key climate program to help fund state fire response under a $322-billion budget proposal announced Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The Democratic governor's plan aims to fill a projected $12 billion budget hole he attributed to the Trump administration's economic policies, a volatile stock market causing a decline in revenues from wealthy taxpayers, and a reduction in global tourism. 'California's fundamental values don't change just because the federal winds have shifted," Newsom said in a statement. "Even as the Trump Slump slows the economy and hits our revenues, we're delivering bold proposals to build more housing, lower costs for working families, and invest in our kids.' California is required by law to balance its budget every year. Newsom first unveiled a plan in January without a projected shortfall. His revised proposal now heads to state lawmakers, who have until mid-June to negotiate before a final budget act must be passed. Here is a look at some of what Newsom is proposing: Health care and human services Newsom plans to freeze enrollment for low-income adult immigrants without legal status and require eligible adults to pay a $100 monthly premium. He said the proposed changes to the program would save the state $5.4 billion by the 2028-2029 fiscal year. The governor also proposed eliminating state health care coverage for certain drugs used for weight loss beginning in January 2026, which would save an estimated $85 million for the upcoming fiscal year and $680 million by fiscal year 2028-2029. The state would also delay the repayment of a $3.4 billion loan for state Medicaid providers under Newsom's plan. Newsom plans to cut spending for a program providing in-home domestic and personal care services for some low-income residents and Californians with disabilities by capping workers' overtime and travel hours at 50 hours per week. The move would reduce spending by nearly $708 million for the upcoming fiscal year. Environment Newsom wants to reauthorize the state's cap-and-trade program through 2045. The program aims to reduce emissions from industrial sources over time through market-based mechanisms, and it is set to expire in 2030. Money generated through auctions of credits needed to pollute goes into a fund that lawmakers tap for climate-related spending and the state's high-speed rail project. Newsom proposed tapping $1.5 billion from that fund for the state fire department. He said the shift would help ensure carbon emitters help pay for the state's response to fires intensified by climate change. His proposal would also ensure $1 billion annually for the state's long-delayed high-speed rail project. The project now receives 25% of the cap-and-trade fund money, which ends up being a little more or a little less than a billion annually depending on the year. Environmental groups called on Newsom to back proposals aimed at making fossil fuel companies pay the state for damages linked to climate change. The money would be used in part to support the state's response to climate-driven natural disasters. Newsom also announced a plan to streamline a project to create a massive underground tunnel to reroute a big part of the state's water supply. Public Safety Newsom proposed closing another state prison by October 2026 to save $150 million annually. Newsom has already approved the closure of three prisons since 2019. The state's prison population has declined over the years, even after voters last year passed a tough-on-crime ballot measure that could incarcerate more people, according to Newsom's budget plan. Newsom didn't specify which facility would shutter. The budget proposal did not include funding to implement the voter-approved initiative that makes shoplifting a felony for repeat offenders again, increases penalties for some drug charges and gives judges the authority to order people with multiple drug charges to get treatment. ___ Associated Press writer Trân Nguyễn contributed to this report. ___
