Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 6:15 pm on 25th April 2006.
My Lords, I warmly support the amendments. This may seem a small step—I would prefer to see more sharing of the time between the two parents—but flexibility is clearly the key here and this Bill is all about flexibility at work. The legislation seeks to increase opportunities for people to work in flexible ways, to the benefit of families. I hope that this small but necessary step can be agreed. The fact that it has the support of the Equal Opportunities Commission and a number of other organisations reinforces the need to do something, particularly for low-paid workers.