---

Lone Parent Employment

: My hon. Friend talks about the pressure on women who work part-time and flexible hours, and to some extent I recognise the situation that she describes. However, when many of the employers to whom I talk introduce flexible arrangements—many of the staff involved are women and also mothers—they find that there is a massive benefit in terms of those people's productivity. Although there may be tensions involved in trying to negotiate such packages, we are rather rapidly reaching a situation in which employers who initially feared the introduction of the right to request flexible working are now welcoming it, because they see the benefits in productivity, staff loyalty and the commitment of those who choose flexible working. The other issue to which my hon. Friend may have been referring is the difference in part-time and full-time pay, and we have to do much more work on that if we are to ensure fairness and equity between part-time and full-time workers. I entirely accept that.