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Childcare Bill

We will debate those issues in the House next week. I urge the right hon. Lady to be patient and make her comments in the appropriate forum. She knows that we have extended maternity leave. When we came to power, maternity pay was for only 14 weeks; it is currently for six months. We as a Government are pledging to extend that maternity leave and pay from six months to nine months, with a goal of 12 months. I hope that that is a measure that she will support. Since 1997, we have started to build up services to help all parents help their children in their early years and beyond. By 2010, there will be 3,500 children’s centres across the country, one for every community, building on the Sure Start approach and ensuring that more families than ever before can benefit.