Meg Munn (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry; Sheffield, Heeley, Labour)

Clause 2 extends the maximum period for the payment of statutory adoption pay that may be prescribed in regulations from 26 weeks to 52 weeks; 52 weeks is the goal that we aim to achieve by the end of this Parliament. As a first step, we will increase the period of payment to 39 weeks for adoptions where the child is placed for adoption on or after 1 April 2007. That is an important change for prospective adoptive parents who are working, and it is part of our continuing drive to help working parents achieve a better balance between their home and working lives, while ensuring that adopters continue broadly to benefit from the same entitlements as birth mothers. An extra 13 weeks’ statutory adoption pay will be worth nearly £1,400 in the majority of cases.

We set out our commitment to extend adoption pay, mirroring the extensions to maternity pay and maternity allowance, in our consultation document, “Work and Families: Choice and Flexibility”. That document was well received, with all sides recognising that any extra time that the adopter has at home with his or her child will allow them greater opportunity to settle the child into their new family, to make any child care arrangements, and to ensure that they can return to work having taken the appropriate steps for their family. Adopters do an important job for society, and ensuring that they can return to work successfully is beneficial for them and their employers.

We recognise that some employers, particularly small employers, are concerned about the absence of an employee over a long period. However, the increased availability of paid leave will make it easier for adopters to return to work after the end of their leave, because they are more likely to have had the opportunity to take the amount of paid maternity   leave that they feel they need to meet their needs and deal with the issues relating to the child or children who they are adopting.

Businesses will benefit because they will retain the skills and services of the employee whom they might otherwise lose, thus avoiding any new or further recruitment and training costs. We will ensure that the views of employers are taken into account and that the impact of these important changes are fully understood and considered before any further extension of the pay period to 52 weeks is implemented.

There are costs in the short term, both in paying statutory adoption pay and in arranging cover for absent employees, but those should be seen as an investment in the future. The taxpayer, through the Revenue, reimburses larger employers 92 per cent. of the statutory adoption pay and small employers get back all the statutory adoption pay plus an additional payment of 4.5 per cent. to meet their national insurance costs.

We have widened the definition of a small employer in April 2004, so more employers benefit. The Bill also makes it easier for employers to manage and administer statutory adoption pay. We are making it possible for statutory adoption pay to be paid at a daily rate, to make it easier for employers to align those payments with their employees’ usual pay period. That measure will benefit more than 4,000 adopters per year.

Clause 2 amends the regulation-making power in section 171ZN(2) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 to allow the adoption pay period to be a maximum of 52 weeks. The extension of the adoption pay period to 39 weeks will be specified in regulations.

The extension to the adoption pay period forms a crucial part of a range of measures that will help parents choose how best to combine parenthood with their responsibilities towards their employer.

Mark Prisk (Whip, Whips; Hertford & Stortford, Conservative)

Will the Minister just confirm, as she did generously on the previous clause, that all the small business representatives will have the opportunity to look at the draft regulations? We do not have that chance, but it is important that they should do so and have a chance to contribute to the regulations before they are brought to the House.

Meg Munn (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry; Sheffield, Heeley, Labour)

I am happy to do that. That is our practice with regulations.

Norman Lamb (Shadow Secretary of State for Trade & Industry, Trade & Industry; North Norfolk, Liberal Democrat)

We strongly support this extension. It is remarkable that people adopting a child have not had rights until recently. It is shocking that life has been made so difficult for them in that adopting process. This is a crucial right for parents adopting a child.

Eleanor Laing (Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, Scotland; Epping Forest, Conservative)

Once again, I concur with the hon. Gentleman. It is good to see the Minister bringing forward this provision, because encouraging people to adopt is crucial. There are so many children who need   to be adopted and given a second chance in life due to the circumstances in which they were born and lived their early lives.

It is incredible to think that we have not previously treated adoptive parents in the same way as birth parents. We support the clause.