Matt Turmaine

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Hobhouse. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) on securing this important debate, and I thank those who have given such meaningful and touching speeches. The role of fathers and positive role models is more important than ever in our society. Our country has so many things better than it used to years ago. We have better housing, physical healthcare and quality of life than previous generations. However, it is also a country in which old certainties are being eroded. The challenges include, of course, social media and the toxic constant of online harms, and there is also the challenge to young people of finding secure, meaningful work and somewhere to live and maintaining good mental health. The way societal developments impact our children clearly demonstrates the need for positive male role models and parenting provision in Britain and around the world. So what can we do to help make fathers more present and engaged in the lives of our children? Better paternity pay would undoubtedly feature. The report “Economic and Social Benefits of Enhanced Paternity Leave” was published this week. As we have heard, the UK’s statutory paternity leave is the worst in Europe, with two weeks’ leave paid at less than half the minimum wage. That is truly shocking. The evidence is mounting that substantial, well-paid paternity leave is the key to unlocking better outcomes in the UK. Better paternity leave reduces postpartum depression rates and the gender pay gap in the workplace, improves children’s performance at school and enhances fathers’ wellbeing. British parents deserve to be accommodated and supported in the workplace and have the opportunity to equally share parenthood between them, leading to a more prosperous country for us all. We cannot discuss the importance of male role models and present fathers if we do not discuss the measures we can take to facilitate that. Improving paternity leave is the first step towards recognising fathers as equally important parents. The challenge to our young people and the risk of becoming NEET—not in education, employment or training—has become ever more worrying for young fathers and those they parent. Alan Milburn has recently published a report diagnosing the problem, and it makes for very concerning reading. The Centre for Social Justice reported back in April that a lack of male role models is partly responsible for teenage boys’ collapsing happiness and wellbeing. The report found that the number of male volunteers in sports and leisure clubs is falling, and that there are now 1,000 fewer youth clubs than there were 15 years ago—something I have seen in my constituency of Watford. The report also found that, tragically, more young boys in the UK today grow up with a smartphone than with a father figure in the home. Is it any wonder that young boys are turning to alternative male role models online and falling down the toxic manosphere rabbit hole? We cannot rescue this generation from online extreme hate and declining school performance without filling the gaps that have been created in their lives. We must invest in more clubs, sports teams and youth centres so that our boys get the same socialisation and learning opportunities as previous generations. Fathers and positive role models have a vital part to play in ensuring the physical and mental health of our children and their ability to experience high-quality education and find meaningful work.