- 04/04/2025
- Posted by: Amanda Hack MP
- Category: News
- Amanda Hack MP met with Dads from across North West Leicestershire, joining a string of similar events around the country.
- They discussed the challenges facing dads today, including limited paternity leave.
- Today is the 22nd anniversary of Labour’s introduction of Statutory Paternity Leave, which new research shows has benefitted 4 million babies across the UK
- The new Government has committed to paternity leave as a day one right of employment, meaning you are entitled even if you just started your job.
The morning was held in partnership with The Dad Shift campaign group to celebrate the introduction of Statutory Paternity Leave by the last Labour government 22 years ago. Research from The Dad Shift shows that over 4 million babies have since benefitted from having their father at home in the first two weeks.
Amanda Hack MP met with Dads during a drop-in session at Ashby Ivanhoe Football Club. They discussed the pressures on new Dads bringing up children locally and what the Government can do to support them.
Amanda Hack said:
“Meeting with Dads here at Ashby Ivanhoe has been really insightful. Across our area, families have struggled in recent years, and I know that Dads, in particular, struggle to get enough time with their children in those first months. Many told me how they would have loved to spend more time at home during those first few months, being around for more of those early milestones. I want Dads to know that what they do is appreciated and celebrate their role in the family.”
George Gabriel, Founder of The Dad Shift said
“We know that Dads want to spend more time with their young children, and we know that across the country, most people agree that would be a good thing. It is great to see people across the country coming together to talk about the importance of Dads being there in those early days, and discussing how we can change the system to make it better. 2 weeks simply isn’t enough.”
Ten years ago the coalition introduced Shared Parental Leave – by which mothers can share some of their leave allowance with their partners, however with uptake of SPL at less than 2% nationally momentum is building for further reform. Labour’s Employment Rights Bill will make statutory paternity leave a day 1 right, meaning you are entitled to it from the day you start your job, and campaigners hope an upcoming review of parental leave will see the UK’s dads given more time off with their new babies.
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In Westminster Hall, I recently spoke about how living in a rural community can make accessing healthcare far more difficult than it should be.
One of the first casework issues I ever dealt with was from a resident in Ashby who needed an out of hours appointment on a Sunday. The only place they could be seen was in Leicester and just getting there cost around £40 in a taxi.
I also raised the pressure on our community pharmacies. They are the first port of call for so many of us, especially in areas like ours with a history of industrial work and higher rates of respiratory conditions. Around 8% of local residents are living with asthma, and many rely on regular medication and advice from their local chemist.
But depending on where you live, getting to a pharmacy isn’t always simple.
Castle Donington, which has the highest asthma levels in the constituency, has just one pharmacy serving the entire area. It does fantastic work, but the next closest option is more than five miles away.
(I am aware of the recent announcement regarding the Independent Prescribing Pathfinder service and have written to the ICB about this.)
Our rural communities deserve better access to the healthcare services and I’m proud that we are part of the rollout of neighbourhood health services, bringing more of the NHS closer to local people.
But I want to hear your views on health services across the constituency. I’ve just launched a local survey which you can complete here: www.amandahack.com/campaigns/local-nhs-survey/
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Over the past week, I’ve heard from many of you about the rise in heating oil prices across the constituency following the volatility in the Middle East.
Some residents have told me about orders being cancelled and then reissued at significantly higher prices. I know that for households that rely on heating oil, delaying an order simply isn’t an option. Poor practices and hiking up prices is completely unacceptable.
As a member of the Labour Rural Research Group, I met with the Energy Minister and the Treasury Secretary alongside colleagues last week to raise these concerns, and we have continued to provide feedback from our survey. Following those discussions, the government is now taking action.
We are not only looking at how the UK heating oil sector can be more closely regulated in the future, but we are also announcing a £53 million support package for those most in need. The funding will be distributed by local authorities via the Crisis and Resilience Fund (previously known as the Household Support Fund). As further information on the scheme becomes available, I will of course share that with you.
If you haven’t yet had the chance to complete our survey on this issue, we are still sharing information with treasury colleagues, so please complete it here before the end of today: tinyurl.com/2fd63cyy
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