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<p>The Government Equalities Office is working to address the persistent gendered
barriers that women and men face at every stage of their lives. As part of our new
strategy we will set out what the Government is doing to ensure that people have financial
independence and resilience, as well as real choice and influence over the economic
decisions in their lives. This includes the choices that women make around whether
to have children, and how to balance work and care.</p><p> </p><p>The Government provides
a range of support for new mothers, depending on their needs and the needs of their
families. These include breastfeeding, perinatal mental health, and health visitor
support.</p><p> </p><p>Enabling women and men to spend quality time with their child
in the first year is important to support families to bond. The right to request flexible
working, and the introduction of Shared Parental Leave helps parents to balance work
and care between them, in a way that works for their families.</p><p> </p><p>If mothers
want to return to work, childcare support is available, we have doubled the childcare
entitlement for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds, from 15 to 30 hours a week as
well as introducing Tax-Free Childcare. This means that this year we will be spending
around £6bn on childcare support, this is more than any previous government.</p>
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