Welfare Reform Bill

Precisely because we were running out of time, and it was the only way of getting the Bill through because the Conservatives were opposing it. I take it that the right hon. Lady is now reversing her party's policy. She does not deny that, so I take it that the Opposition will support the Bill here and, we hope, in the other House. I hope that is one of many U-turns that we can look forward to under her leadership of the Opposition Front-Bench team. Fathers also have an important role to play. As well as underlining people's responsibilities, we want to make sure that the role of fathers is properly recognised. At the moment, it is much easier for a father to register their name on a birth certificate if they are married than if they are not. There are about 45,000 births a year to unmarried couples where no father is on the birth certificate. We think that that is wrong, and we want to put that right. We want to change the system so that the default is that both the mother and the father are on a child's birth certificate, so fathers are clear about their responsibilities from the very start but, on the other hand, are involved in their child's life, even if the relationship with their partner has broken down.