Guest post from Nick Clegg: 'This is a watershed moment in the fight for a family-friendly Britain'

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It’s not often that government legislation kick starts a revolution. Yet our Children and Families Act, which has just received Royal Assent, does just that. It takes us another important step closer to ensuring the more family-friendly Britain that Mumsnet and Mumsnetters have been campaigning for for years.

This is a watershed moment. Every dot and comma of the Bill puts into law measures that will transform outdated attitudes and systems in Britain. We want to give families like yours more freedom and flexibility to make the choices you want and ensure every child gets the best possible start in life.

So now, thanks to these changes, our parental leave system will no longer be built on the 1950s assumption that when a child is born, mum stays home while dad goes out to work. We want to ensure that fewer women feel like they have to choose between their family and career and that more men can spend the extra time they want with their kids.

And, now, if you’re a parent who wants to give your children the best care and opportunities, you’ll have improved access to good, affordable childcare and greater support through extended flexible working. You’ll also have the guarantee of a free healthy meal for your child during those important first years at school.

This is about more than changing laws. It’s about changing a culture that for too long has dictated rather than supported families’ choices.

Take the coalition government’s introduction of shared parental leave for new parents. In the old system, after a child was born, fathers got two weeks for paternity leave and mothers could take up to a year.

But what about the many parents who want to share these traditional roles between them, so they can better meet the needs of their family?

From April 2015, this flagship Liberal Democrat policy will make it possible for new parents to carve up the leave they’re entitled to, with much greater flexibility.

So if you want to return to work before your year’s leave is up or go back to work for a particular project, you can do so without losing out. We want to ensure that all career options remain open to women after pregnancy. Your partner can stay at home and use the rest of the leave and pay, if that’s what they want.

If you choose, you can even take off chunks of time together. Once you return to work, you’ll also be able to benefit from the support of family and friends who want to help out and will have the same right to request flexible working arrangements as you do.

These measures have been pored over by analysts, businesses and the people they impact to ensure they’re easy to understand, implement and use.

We don’t want to create an unnecessary burden, particularly for small businesses. So we've listened and responded to the concerns of business and their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Businesses recognise the more diverse, productive and skilled workforce shared parental leave and flexible working can bring. I have seen some excellent examples of family friendly businesses through the Mumsnet Awards. I’d like to see many more in the future.

Above all else, we want a system that works for everyone, and one of the policies that will benefit almost every family with young children is our plan to provide free school meals to pupils in reception classes, year one and year two of primary school from September. Experts have been looking at this policy for years and universal free school meal pilots have shown the genuine difference this can make.

At a time when many are still struggling to make ends meet, it will save families hundreds of pounds per child every year. It’s also been shown to help children do better in English and Maths. On average, pupils in the pilot areas were two months ahead of their peers, with children from poorer backgrounds showing the biggest improvements. Children in the pilot areas were also shown to be more likely to eat vegetables and fewer snacks.

We know this approach helps. That’s why we’re working closely with schools and teachers across the country to meet our September launch.

Building a Britain fit for modern families has been one of my biggest ambitions, and that of the Liberal Democrats, in government. Today takes us another step closer to making that ambition a reality, laying the foundations for our family-friendly revolution.

Together, we’re building a modern Britain we can all be proud of, with a stronger economy and fairer society. So every British family, no matter what their circumstances, can prosper, and every child, whatever their background, can rise as high as their talents and hard work will take them.

Universal benefits are simpler and easier to administer and reach 100% of the target population.

I would suggest raising taxes and having more universal benefits but people scream socialist although not realising that on a net basis the cost might be similar

Scottishmummy

I work across schools in all areas. Poor quality food in packed lunches (and subsequent child health issues) are not confined to deprived areas.
All children should have access to adequate nutrition. The best way to deliver that is universal provision of free school meals.

And complaints are not just cost incurred but also about school meals being less healthy than packed lunches, nanny state, etc, etc.

Boffinmum is absolutely right.

Why the hoohaa about free school meals? You could widen the argument to 'why should the government provide free paper/ books/ pens/ chairs/ paints' to people who can afford to pay for them. Why is pasta and meatballs different? Should people pay for food in hospital if they can afford it?

Flexible leave is a great idea. The man is not always the main breadwinner and it is a significant step to more equality, for both sexes.

The SEN stuff I don't understand so won't comment on that.

Sienna that is utter rubbish. School meals may be healthy on paper (although there is pudding EVERY DAY ), but the reality is that kids can pick and choose the bits they want and so pasta/potatoes/chips followed by cake/biscuit is the reality of what happens a lot of the time.

At least if I send my child in with a packed lunch then I know that he isn't just going to eat a load of sugary carbs and nothing else - and I also know whether he eats it or not, which allows me to adjust what he has over the course of the rest of the day.

I cannot abide nanny-state 'we know better than you' bullshit.

Britain and England seem to be interchangeable to the govt.

Why is Nick Clegg eulogising about a more family friendly Britain when for eg. free school meals are being implemented for England only?

overcooked frozen mixed veg is not 'healthy'.

ds' school dinners never struck me as healthy in the slightest. kids can also pick the 'school sandwich' option which was a sandwich, pack of crisps and a cookie ffs.

and if your child doesn't eat meat you're screwed because they do indeed just get to eat frozen mixed veg and overcooked pasta on a daily basis.

veggie stews with elected portions of meat or cheese, jacket potatoes with a choice of fillings and plenty of fresh fruit would be good. or even decent bread and a selection of meats, cheeses, salad veg and fruit would be preferable to the crap his school wanted to charge £2 a day for.

honestly on site baked bread, meats and cheeses, tomatoes, carrot sticks, cucumber, olives and fruit in buffet style with a hot jacket potato option for those who wanted could be done for 50p a head and everyone could afford it encouraging mass uptake and all children could find something balanced to eat.

if it was 50p a day and of the nature stated i think all parents would pay, even those on very restricted incomes as it's on a par with a very budget packed lunch.

having all this pasta and meatballs, homemade pizza, curry and white overcooked rice etc with the obligatory overcooked frozen mixed veg isn't healthy and doesn't appeal to a hell of a lot of parents. nor does over pricing.

Dear Nick I live in the south east & have an 11 month old baby. I am not going back to work until she is in school. This is because I think I am the best person to bring her up & teach her in her first years of her life.

My husband and I don't qualify for child benefit or any other government help. And yet my husbands wages don't cover all our outgoings. (Cancelling the landline, no holidays, we don't smoke etc). So we are surviving on our savings.

If my tax allowance could be transferred to my husband our monthly finances would be in the black, rather than the red.

WHEN is this going to happen?
It's not fair that by bringing up my own child I am regarded as being of zero worth to this government.
But packing her off to full time nursery so I can go back to work & earn money & pay tax seems to be what parents are pushed into now.

No one in early years childcare says all children should be away from their parents in full time nursery. Why is the government making this the only viable option for us? Think about the future adults you are creating. Ah but you won't be in government then. Sorry but I am now very cynical.

The chancellor & pm are from very wealthy families- HOW can they have any clue what it's like for the rest of us?

Oh and your colleague Liz Truss doesn't even have children, so how can she be given authority over other peoples children? Re number of children per staff in childcare. Shocking.

I have always voted & been interested in politics. Even wanted to be an mp once.

Now? I don't think I will bother to vote. The rich kids are just laughing all the way to the bank & leaving the rest of us struggling.

Now? I don't think I will bother to vote. The rich kids are just laughing all the way to the bank & leaving the rest of us

Even more so when you dont vote. At least spoil your ballot or read other manifestos and vote for a minority or even independent. Not voting makes no statement in the eyes of the politicians.

Agreed. If you don't turn up you're effectively telling them to carry on, and have no right to complain.

Ah well I was I actually planning to spoil the ballot paper

Alibaba - what exactly is rubbish?? If you can't give a courteous response at least be specific.
I spend a lot of time in schools and often do observations at meal times. I can't remember the last time I saw chips on the menu.
I accept your point that kids pick and choose the bits they want. That is equally true of packed lunches. You are naive if you think kids with packed lunches don't swap/throw away the bits they don't want to eat.
If all kids got free school lunches you wouldn't get kids coming to school with just packets of crisps/sweets (this happens a lot).
If you object to your child getting a free school meal you can still make them a packed lunch. So really, what is there to get so irate about? (Love a good nanny-state rant tho, so thanks for that)

Honeybadger - how long ago was your DS having school meals? My understanding is that crisps, chocolates, sweets, etc aren't allowed to be sold in schools these days. I've not seen anything like that for a long time.

Britain?

Free school meals is an England only policy because education elsewhere is devolved.

Please don't say Britain when you only mean part of it.

Siennasun, yes, local primaries here have a "grab bag" option which is a sandwich, packet of crisps, piece of fruit (which is probably tiny and goes in the bin) and a cake / cookie thing.

sienna saying that school meals are so healthy is rubbish, I'm sorry but it just is.

The meals at our infants are awful.

This week for example - I am looking on the website now - the carb options are potato waffles, mashed potato, two days of roast potato, chips. Five days of potatoes - two of them chips. No rice or pasta as a variation, unless you go with the veggie option which is all veggie sausages/quorn-type stuff which my kids wouldn't recognise as being real food.

Meat is beef, pork, fish cake, 'salmon and haddock slice' whatever that is, reformed chicken grill. Those are not too bad, I will agree.

Veg choices are sweetcorn/peas/ salad (manky lettuce and a half frozen tomato according to DS on the one occasion he had them) and one day of a frozen reheated mix of cauliflower and carrots.

Pudding every day - brownie, sponge and custard, jelly, iced bun, muffin.

Our school allows no sharing or swapping of foods because of allergy issues, and any food not eaten goes back in the lunchbox to come home again. So yes, I know exactly what my child is eating.

What there is to get irate about, is that this is money that would be much better spent elsewhere.

If this is your job, to observe this stuff, then you have a very blinkered view.

I cannot believe one person in a place of such power and with the privilege of such great education can become so blind-sighted he is so completely ignorant and out of touch with the populace, yet believes he is.

How saddening, when you consider the wars fought in reaction to such rule by Britain, and those who gave their lives in such struggles and for rights of the populace of those who reside in her domain, for suffrage of all her people, for rights in employment and thenceforth.

I know Mr. Clegg will never read any of this, why would he? He never had to live his life as an ordinary person. Enough is known of his own past to discern that, as if it were not patently obvious. There is no crime in that. But he presumes to think for the populace who voted for him, and he has gone back on all his promises.

He is untrustworthy, and a proven liar. Do our elected representatives presume such stupidity on the part of their constituencies? Really?

How very disheartening, to presume we will settle for bones thrown to us as dogs at this late stage, from a proven liar of empty promises, from a man who refuses to admit neither fault nor shame.

I've met braver Syrian hamsters in death.

You are a dishonour to your party and the people of Britain, Mr. Clegg.

Go on, delete me.

just a year ago whoever asked how long ago my ds was having school dinners.

countries that provide free food tend to do simple food as i recall - re bread, meats, cheeses, fruit etc on a eat as much as you want kind of basis. it's also what works for most kids ime - to have a degree of choice (within a healthy range) and to eat as much as they want rather than to dollop a no control over it meal on a plate in front of them.

the kind of crap school dinners people are describing are entirely recognisable to me.

school dinners were a nightmare with ds because actually he will quite happily eat tons of fresh not overcooked vegetables, breads, olives, cheese, ham, chorizo, prawns, plain pasta, rice etc and whatever sort of REAL identifiable food is available. he won't eat 'meals' as in here's some unidentifiable meat with a lurid coloured slop sauce over it or a load of food mixed together into unrecognisable mush of dubious texture dolloped on top of some overcooked starchy rice.

they seriously need to just simplify and serve good simple food. this whole 'have to have a hot meal' business doesn't really have any basis in reality. they're not farmers.

and imagine the saved costs in just putting out bread, meats, cheeses, salads, fruit, jacket potatoes, crudites etc on a big table? you could offer it much more cheaply and with far more uptake and without needing an industrial kitchen churning away in every school.

sorry multiple posts but include some boiled halved eggs, some tuna mayo in a bowl, etc. cheap, nutritious, simple food within which all can find something they like.

honestly how would you liked to be served mass produced tasteless chicken 'curry' on overcooked rice with some watery frozen vegetables and told that's your dinner today, tommorow we'll be having overcooked white pasta with overcooked cheap mince and canned tomatoes on top.

Alibaba

I work in SEN. My job has nothing to do with school meals. It's just I often happen to be in schools when they are eating.
The meals you describe could definitely be improved, but you've got protein, complex carbs and vegetables provided in the right ratio - whether the child chooses to eat them is a different matter but they can't eat a balanced meal if they're not given it. Have you actually seen the poor quality in person? Is your DS a big fan of salad at home?
I'm not an expert in school dinners by any means but in my unbiased opinion of having seen lots of school lunchtimes, in general the school dinners usually look tastier and healthier than packed lunches which vary massively in quality and smell vile.

Most schools have the no sharing rule but it is very difficult to enforce. You don't know exactly what a child is eating unless you watch them eat it.

In terms of money being better spent elsewhere, what could be more important than good nutrition for young children? All these incentives to encourage healthy eating are preventative measures to try to reduce obesity which is massively costly to the NHS. People complain about the nanny state but a lot of parents feed their kids junk, and there are a lot of fat and unhealthy kids around. Preventative measure aim to save a lot of money in the long term.