Councillors at Mid Suffolk District Council are now entitled to paid parental leave

Mid Suffolk District Council approved the parental leave policy on Monday, which will allow six months’ parental leave and give the option to extend it by up to 52 weeks.

The policy covers adoption, maternity, paternity and shared parental leave, and is based on a model policy by the local government association (LGA).

There is no legal entitlement for councillors to have paid parental leave but many councils across England have a voluntary policy like Mid Suffolk’s.

Council chairman Cllr James Caston, who has two young children, said: “I welcome this wholeheartedly.

“It takes away the feeling that you are not doing your job properly if you don’t turn up to meetings when you’ve just become a parent.

“We could definitely see some younger councillors in the next intake. We want local politics to be as welcoming as possible to everybody who wants to enter.”

The model parental leave policy was initially drafted by the LGA’s Labour Group in 2018, at which point only 12 councils in England had a formal parental leave policy.

A councillor who is the designated carer gets six months’ parental leave with the option to increase by 52 weeks under the policy.

They will continue to gain their basic and special responsibility allowances throughout this time.

The policy also states the council will make “every effort” to replicate shared parental leave system decided by the parents’ employers.

Cllr Penny Otton voted for approval but had some reservations: “It is very much written in what I would say is based on a traditional family.”

Cllr Otton felt surrogacy and fostering should be included in the policy.

Cllr Terence Carter also mentioned a lack of inclusivity, alongside his view that the document does not answer many questions new parents will ask.

By abstaining on the vote, Cllr Carter became the only councillor not to vote in favour of the policy.

One of the elements brought up by Cllr Carter was the policy’s statement that: “Any councillor who takes parental leave retains their legal duty to attend a meeting of the council within a six-month period unless an extended leave of absence is granted.”

This legal duty under the Local Government Act 1972 will remain but the councillor could gain dispensation not to attend a meeting in six months.

Babergh District Council will consider implementing the same parental leave policy today.