Mary Henry (Independent)

My amendment also seeks to change the wording in section 8 to make it positive. The only facility required for breastfeeding is a chair to permit the mother to sit down. I do not see why employers should not have to provide a chair. Nothing else is needed. If the chair was in the corner of an office or where other people have coffee, that would be fine. It is not as though this is a big deal. It would encourage people to look on breastfeeding as a natural process if we provided that some attempt had to be made to put something as simple as a chair in place. I am not looking for a room to be provided. If a woman wishes to feed on the job rather than keep going in and out, there should be a chair. There will not be dozens of women sitting around breastfeeding. Babies are very quiet when they are this young. It is only when they begin to move around that one begins to run into trouble with them. In respect of this legislation, we are discussing babies who could fit in a basket.