What Labour has achieved for women

• Supporting mothers: The National Childcare Strategy launched in 1998, to support choice by expanding good quality, affordable childcare.
• Since 1997, over a million new childcare places have been created, benefiting 1.6 million children.
• We are on track to meet our target of creating places for a further 2 million children by 2006.
• The right to part-time nursery education for three and four year olds has been introduced, over 500 Sure Start Local Programmes have been set up; 8,600 out of school clubs and we have set up 213 Children's Centres in the 20% most deprived areas.
• The first Neighbourhood Nursery opened in 2001 - now 1,279 such nurseries are up and running, providing over 45,000 new daycare places. This represents the largest single increase in new nursery provision for the under fives since the second world war.
• Supporting equality: The Equality Act which received Royal Assent on February 16th 2006 places a new duty on the public sector to promote gender equality. This takes the equality agenda beyond just preventing discrimination by ensuring that the public sector pro-actively promotes equality.
• A public voice: campaigned to encourage more women onto the boards of national public bodies. Gave parties the right to take measures to increase the numbers of women elected at all levels – only Labour has used these new powers.
• Safer neighbourhoods for families. Labour has delivered a record a number of police officers and new Community Support Officers – with new powers to tackle anti-social behaviour and crime.
• Increased support for working families. Labour has delivered the National Minimum Wage, more support for families with tax credits and greater help with childcare.
• By December 2005, around 10 million children were benefiting from the Child Tax Credit it provides.  As a result of Labour’s tax and benefit measures since 1997, by October 2006:Families with children are, on average, £1,500 a year better off in real terms.
• Maternity leave has increased to 6 months in 2003 with commitment to increase to 9 months and then a year by the end of the Parliament.  Maternity pay increased to £106 a week.
• Paternity Leave: four-fifths of new dads (79 per cent) are taking up their new entitlement to paternity leave
• 1.3 million people are benefiting from the introduction of the national minimum wage, about 70% are women
• A decent life for the elderly. Labour has delivered a higher basic state pension, the Winter Fuel Payment, Pension Credit and free TV licences for over 75s. The Second State Pension extends second tier pension rights to people without earnings and with caring responsibilities (mostly women). The Government has also introduced pension sharing arrangements on divorce.
• New pensions proposals tackle unfairness to women by recognising contributions of mothers and carers for nation insurance cutting the number of qualifying years you need to receive a full state pension.
• Supporting work-life balance. Labour has delivered more paid maternity leave and the right for parent of young children to request flexible working and equal treatment for part-timers
• Parents with young or disabled children now have the right to request flexible working, and to date 90 per cent of flexible working requests have resulted in an agreement with employers.  We are extending the right to request flexible working to carers.