The Church of England logoFaithWorshipLife eventsAbout the Church
Information Where to find us
Media Centre Home

Work/life/balance

The family is an issue that has increasingly manifested on the Government's political agenda, particularly with regard to helping parents face the challenges of combining work and family.

Parents quality time with children

On 18 March 2008 the Bishop of Southwell & Nottingham followed up his support for flexible working during the passage of the Work & Families Act by sponsoring a dinnertime debate asking Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to help parents of school-age children, especially those on low incomes, to spend quality time with their children at weekends? He argued that, if the Government wishes to achieve its twin aims of, firstly, combating poverty by maximising the number of people in work and, secondly, emphasising the responsibility of parents, then it has to make flexible working possible for all families with children under 18, including those on low incomes. Peers from all parts of the House contributed to the robust debate which was then summed up by Lord Adonis, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Children, Schools and Families. He agreed that parenting is the single greatest factor in a child's personal development and educational attainment and emphasised the Government's commitment to supporting parents and helping them to fulfil their parenting responsibilities, outlining some of the policies and investments made by Government in recent years. This included making the request for flexible working a legal right for all parents with children under 6, or disabled children under 18. He drew attention to the independent review by Imelda Walsh considering whether to recommend a new upper limit and encouraged the Bishop and all those Lords who had contributed to the debate to make their views known to her. The report from Hansard of this debate can be read here.

 

The Government have previously issued several consultation papers about work and parents, which we have responded to.

In October 2002, the Board for Social Responsibility prepared a response to the DTI paper - Work and Parents - consultation on draft regulations

Previous to that, it also prepared a submission to the Work and Parents Taskforce set up by the DTI in September 2001.

In March 2001, the Board for Social Responsibility prepared a response to the DTI paper - Work and Parents: competitiveness and choice.