UK Legislation Watch

Engaging in the UK legislative process is a major part of Mothers' Union policy work. All new legislation can have a far-reaching impact on people's lives, both in the UK and the wider world. Mothers' Union aims to ensure that this impact is a positive one, one that supports families.

At any one time many different pieces of legislation, or Bills, are being considered in the UK Parliament. These Bills form the basis for new laws, or Acts of Parliament. At the beginning of every Parliamentary Session, the Queen's Speech outlines the main Bills proposed by the Government, many of which are relevant to the work of Mothers' Union. Mothers' Union then keeps a track of these Bills and other events in Parliament, such as the Budget.

Two Bills on which Mothers' Union is currently working are:

1. Work and Families: Parental Rights Bill
2. Child Contact and Adoption Bill


1. Work and Families: Parental Rights Bill

This Bill, which became law in June, will make changes to leave provisions for working parents around the time of their child's birth. They will include:

• extending paid maternity leave to a year
• giving fathers the option of paid paternity leave once the mother returns to work
• extending the right to request flexible working hours to carers of adult dependents
• improving communication between employers and their employees on maternity/paternity leave, such as keeping in touch days allowing an employee to do a few days' work without losing his/her pay or leave

Mothers' Union has been actively working on this bill and welcomes the extension of paid maternity leave, the right for carers to request flexible working hours and the recognition that fathers, as well as mothers, merit enhanced rights to take time to care for their children.

The Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham based his speech in the House of Lords on a Mothers' Union briefing on this bill and highlighted its concerns about the low level of statutory maternity and paternity pay, the dependency of paternity leave on the mother and the right to request flexible working not being extended to parents of older children and teenagers.

Many Mothers' Union members have lobbied their MPs and Diocesan Bishops on this bill. Read more about one member's efforts in Newcastle in the Spring edition of Policy Watch, our policy newsletter.

2. Child Contact and Adoption Bill

This Bill implements many of the measures proposed in the 2004 green paper, Parental Separation: Children's Needs and Parents' Responsibilities, on which the Mothers' Union was consulted. This Bill will reform the family justice system, providing courts with more flexible powers to facilitate contact arrangements for children of separated parents and to enforce contact orders made under the Children Act 1989. It will also provide a statutory framework for the suspension of inter-country adoptions from countries where there are concerns about the adoption process.

The Mothers' Union believes that a review of the family law system is much overdue and welcomes measures to reform it. The current system exacerbates tensions and fails to reflect changes that have taken place in parenting. Where possible and when safe contact can be assured, the Mothers' Union believes that it is in children's best interests to have both parents involved in their upbringing.