§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what tax and benefit measures he plans to introduce to increase the level of support for parents with children of pre-school age who choose to stay at home and look after their children. [934]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe extra support which the Government have introduced through the Working Families Tax Credit and the Children's Tax Credit has greatly increased the choices available to parents about how to combine work and caring for children. The largest 105W gains have been for families with younger children. A single-earner family with two children under 11, and with earnings of around £12,500 a year, is now around £3,000 a year better off than in 1997.
From April 2002, the Children's Tax Credit will be increased by a further £10 a week, making it worth up to £1,000 a year for around 500,000 families each year in the year of a child's birth. At the same time the Sure Start Maternity Grant, which is available to families on benefit or on WFTC, will rise to £500.
In 2002 and 2003 increases in statutory maternity pay will guarantee a new minimum income for mothers in the first six months after the birth of a child. A new right to paid paternity leave will help fathers who wish to spend time at home with a new baby.