Dr. Helen Russell:

That happens in other countries. We are in the low-performing group concerning the payment. We are much lower than the average rate. As Deputy Clarke said, the Nordic countries and some of the other northern European countries also have much more generous payments. What we see therefore is that fathers are much more likely to take up this leave if the payment rate is higher. In some countries, there is a full replacement rate. There are also top-ups from employers. Potentially, we could have some employers here topping up payments, if not perhaps to the full wage rate. The situation in this context is similar to that with maternity benefit, in that it is quite unequal. It is the people who are already well paid and in higher-income brackets who get those top-ups from their employers. Therefore, it is divisive in the context of social class. It is better if the payment is not dependent on the discretion of the employer. I do not give the figures off-hand for the replacement rates in other countries, but this information is produced regularly and I could pass it on. There are certainly many examples of good practice.