Thank you to all those who have contacted me about support for working mums through various different campaigns.

The childcare system is not working for families or for the economy when childcare costs are high and women are having to leave work. I agree that the Government’s proposal of increasing the number of two-year-olds a member of staff can look after in childcare is not the answer parents want. Not only does this risk reducing the quality of care without lowering fees, but it also fails to address issues with availability, standards and staffing.

I support calls for a complete transformation in how childcare is delivered from the end of parental leave to the start of secondary school. I want Ministers to make it easier for councils to open new maintained nurseries, and I support calls for breakfast clubs in every school because costs do not disappear when children start school.

I know flexible working also makes a huge difference for those who want to stay in work, which is why I am supporting calls for it to be a default right for all workers from day one on the job. I am disappointed the Government has repeatedly failed to deliver on its commitment to promote flexible working through an Employment Bill, which was promised three years ago.

My colleague has now brought forward the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill, which I am pleased to support. Among other measures, it allows workers to make two formal requests for flexible working in any 12-month period, an increase from the current one request, and it removes the requirement for employees to explain what effect their request would have on the employer.

Ministers have said they are supporting the Bill and I welcome their support, but I want them to go further to ensure all workers have a right to flexible working.

I believe parents and families deserve better, which is why I am also supporting calls for a review of shared parental leave and an extension to maternity and paternity leave. The Government ran a consultation on parental leave and pay in 2019, but it has still not published its response. I assure you I will continue to support efforts to press Ministers on this.

Thank you once again for contacting me about this issue.