Call for more parental leave

The director of a leading child care organisation has called on the
government to increase paid leave for parents.

Stephen Burke, director of the Daycare Trust, told delegates that
paid leave was a “crucial issue”, and one on which Britain was
lagging behind the rest of Europe.

In April, statutory paid parental leave of 26 weeks for mothers and
two weeks for fathers was introduced.

Robin Balburnie, a child psychotherapist, said the bond between
mothers and babies was “tremendously important” and greatly
influenced the child’s life.