North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the Welsh Government to ensure that fathers throughout Wales are given the support they need and deserve.
Mr Isherwood, himself a father-of-six, made the call in yesterday’s Business Statement, just a few day before the UK celebrates Father’s Day.
Speaking in the Chamber, he said:
“I call for a Statement ahead of Father’s Day next Sunday - and I congratulate every father here and hope they enjoy their day - on the role and support for fathers in Wales. The vision of the UK think tank, the Fatherhood Institute, is for a society that gives all children a strong and positive relationship with their father and any father figures, supporting both mothers and fathers as earners and carers, and preparing boys and girls for a future shared role in caring for children.
“The 2017 Family Law Manifesto calls for the promotion of responsible shared parenting, and encouragement of best outcomes for children and families. In Scotland last year, Fathers Network Scotland, supported by the Scottish Government, celebrated Year of the Dad, celebrating fatherhood and the importance of fathers in child development and parenting; calling on services and employers to support dads and embrace family-friendly inclusive practice; and acknowledging that today’s father can be single or married, externally employed or a stay-at-home dad, gay or straight, and may not even be the biological father. They could be grandfathers, uncles, foster fathers, adoptive fathers, or step fathers, but much is now expected of them.
“But despite this, the Centre for Social Justice’s 2016 Annual Fatherhood Survey found that 47 per cent of all UK fathers felt their role wasn’t valued by society, 46 per cent of the lowest income fathers reported a lack of good fatherhood role models, and new fathers are crying out for better social and emotional support, rather than being told to ‘man up’, with just 25 per cent of Dads saying there’s enough support to help them play a positive role in family life. Ahead of tonight’s launch of the Welsh Dad Survey’s 2017 results at the Cross-Party Group on Fathers and Fatherhood, I would welcome your agreement to look at what happened in Scotland and see how we might take forward a programme of support in Wales.”
The Leader of the House Jane Hutt AM responded: “You’ve given a very positive profile for the role of fathers in advance of Father’s Day on Sunday.”
Mr Isherwood added: “The brief and non-committal nature of her response spoke volumes, as Wales lags behind in recognising and acting on this vital issue and its implications for our society today.”
ENDS