Research from the University Bath, and published by the Institute for Policy Research, has been recognised in a new Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) research briefing examining the economic effects of policies designed to support families with young children.

The briefing cites work led by Dr Joanna Clifton-Sprigg (Department of Economics), whose research has explored the effectiveness of Shared Parental Leave and the potential impacts of reforms to parental leave and childcare funding.

Her research with Professor Eleonora Fichera evaluated the success of the Shared Parental Leave policy, introduced in April 2015 to help parents share child-related responsibilities and encourage mothers to return to work earlier. The research found that the policy had not, on average, led to a greater take-up or longer leave by fathers.

Building on these findings, subsequent research with Dr Alistair Hunt examined the effect of introducing six weeks of well-paid leave for fathers in their baby’s first year. This found that extending the paternity leave earmarked for fathers to six weeks – paid at 90% of average earnings and available from day one of employment – could deliver net social benefits of up to £12.8 billion annually. Further work specifically focusing on introducing a new six-week paternity allowance to support self employed and ‘worker’ fathers found that this would generate a series of benefits worth nearly £3 billion per year to the UK.

The POST briefing also cites research conducted by Dr Clifton-Sprigg in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Bradford on the affordability and availability of childcare. This research, tracking nursery prices over 18 months, found that nursery fees have risen fastest in areas with the lowest government funding. In ‘childcare deserts’, where three or more children compete for every available nursery place, the surge in demand from expanded entitlements risks driving up prices for the hours that parents still pay for.

Dr Clifton-Sprigg said: "I welcome the Government’s commitment to reviewing support for parents, and I am pleased that our research has been included in this Parliamentary briefing. Well-designed policies for working parents can make a real difference to family wellbeing, gender equality and labour market participation. But these policies do not operate in isolation. Parents make decisions about leave, childcare and work as a package, so reforms need to be designed with those interactions in mind. Evidence is crucial if we want policies that families can actually use – and that deliver value for society."