Adoption Leave Arrangements (Hansard, 28 April 1993)

§ Mrs. Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham)

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to permit the Secretary of State by order to confer rights on adoptive mothers in relation to employment similar to those enjoyed by mothers whose children are born to them; to make provision for adoptive mothers to have the right to return to work during the adoption period laid down; and for connected purposes. I welcome this opportunity to bring the Bill before the House. The Bill would allow the Secretary of State to confer employment rights on adoptive mothers similar to those rights enjoyed by mothers whose children are born to them. It would also provide for adoptive mothers to have the right to return to work during the adoption period laid down.

It seems extraordinary in this day and age, when we have made great progress in recognising the role that women play as mothers, that we should still sustain in our system an inequality against families who provide a home for a child through adoption. At present, adoptive parents do not have the statutory right to return to their jobs after taking a break to care for a new addition to their family. Nor do they receive any statutory payment during any such absence, even though they may well have paid the same national insurance contributions as those who have children born to them, and should thus have access to such entitlements.

I believe that it is the role of Parliament not only to legislate for the majority of its citizens but to revisit legislation and collect those groups of people which it may have missed. In this case, adoptive parents are missed, and are missing out.

In preparing the Bill, I have received tremendous support from Jill White and British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering. I pay tribute to the work they do and the way in which they take up issues on behalf of families seeking to adopt children.

Adopters provide a tremendous service not only to the children they adopt but to the country as a whole. In many instances, the financial burden of raising a child may have fallen on the state. An adoptive parent takes financial responsibility for that child, thus saving the taxpayer money, but, more importantly, no one can disagree that a child raised within a family circle and having the stability of a warm and loving home has a much better start in life than a child who does not have that opportunity. Therefore, an adoptive parent makes an invaluable contribution to the welfare of an individual child and, ultimately, to that child's chances in life—something on which we cannot put a price.

The demands made on a family by the arrival of a new child are similar for birth parents and adoptive parents. In fact, parents who are accepted for adoption may find that their child arrives at very short notice. Like any other child being born into a family, an adopted child needs to spend time with its new parents, especially during the first few weeks when the bonding is established between parents and child. Why should we omit adoptive parents from the protective legislation afforded to birth mothers? There is no good reason for doing so.

I consider this to be not a political issue but one of common sense. That is why, in presenting the Bill to the 962 House, I have been supported not only by members of my own party but by members of the Opposition. I am very grateful to all supporters of the Bill.

The Bill would confer the same entitlements on adoptive mothers as on birth mothers, with the proviso that a prospective adopter must inform her employer in writing, first, of her and her family's approval as prospective adopters, and, secondly, as soon as is practicably possible, of the impending placement for adoption once a child has become available.

The Bill would give an adoptive mother the same right to return to work as a birth mother, and it seeks to extend the rights provided by the Employment Protection (Consolidated) Act 1978 by substituting the words "adoption leave" for the words "maternity leave" and the words "placement for adoption" for "pregnancy and childbirth".

Introducing the same legislation for adopters as for natural mothers would also have benefits for employers, who, unless they have special arrangements, now risk losing valuable trained staff. Individuals who have passed through the necessary screening procedure to be accepted as potential adoptive parents are usually among the most reliable and responsible members of our society, yet we put them in a position in which they may even have to choose between their jobs and adopting a child. I have not sought to restrict the provisions of the Bill with an age limit for the child, because that would be a matter for deliberation in Committee.

I shall give the House an example involving a constituent of mine, a general practitioner, who, together with her husband, has been approved by the local social services department for adopting a baby. She would like to take leave from her partnership when a baby becomes available, and her partners support her. She hoped that she would be eligible for the 13 weeks of locum payments from the family health services authority, in line with its usual practice on maternity leave for birth mothers. But her application was rejected, and she is pursuing the matter with the relevant authorities, now with my help and support. She feels—I agree with her, and I am sure that every Member of the House will also agree—that it is discriminatory to prevent her from experiencing motherhood without having to pay a penalty.

The adoption agency rightly requires that the adoptive mother be absent from work after receiving the adopted child so that she can spend time with that child. Failure to agree to that condition would disqualify her from being an adoptive parent. So if she wishes to continue to be available to adopt, she is faced with some pretty tough decisions about her livelihood.

My Bill seeks to deal with just such cases and to relieve the stress and strain of the uncertainties in that area—uncertainties that arise as a direct result of a lacuna in the legislation. Many letters received by British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering reflect that uncertainty. Some employers seem willing to grant adoption leave; others do not. Potential adoptive parents are unsure about their position in law and often ask for clarification, only to be told that they have no rights.

That area of law is in urgent need of review, so I hope that the Minister will consider my Bill carefully. If we cannot make progress with this ten-minute Bill, I sincerely hope that he will take the earliest opportunity to produce amending legislation to end the additional burden and uncertainty for a group of people who provide a wonderful 963 start for so many of our youngsters, and who surely deserve at least the same protection as that afforded by our laws to a natural parent. Let us really level that playing field for our adopted children and their parents.