WOMEN's groups have accused the House of Commons of putting up "institutional barriers" to female politicians after a Scottish MP was censured for taking her children to a committee.
The SNP's Kirsty Blackman was rebuked after she was forced to take her four-year-old son Harris and two-year-old daughter Rebecca to a discussion on English Votes for English Laws (EVEL) after being unable to find childcare in London.
READ MORE: SNP MP Kirsty Blackman cautioned after taking her children to Westminster committee
Normally Ms Blackman's children go to nursery in Aberdeen but it was closed for Scottish summer holidays which do not coincide with the recess of the UK parliament.
After being cautioned by clerks, Ms Blackman said: “What am I supposed to do with a two year-old? Where am I supposed to leave them? How am I supposed to say to a two-year-old, you need to stay with two people that you don’t know while mummy goes and votes?”
A spokeswoman for Engender Scotland, which campaigns for equality, said: "It is ridiculous that an MP should have received censure for bringing her children into work with her – something most parents do when childcare is unavailable.
"This highlights the serious need for improved childcare provision not just within Westminster, but for all parents seeking affordable and available childcare in the UK.
"We know that we need increased, flexible childcare provision, and the fact that is has been Scottish MPs who have been most publicly affected by this issue due to different term times, further shows the need for employers to be accommodating to the range of needs of parents.
"We’re also concerned about the impact of this on women considering standing for election. By censuring Blackman, parliament clerks have shown that there are still serious institutional barriers to combining parenthood and representing your community."
There have been efforts in recent years to increase the number of women in politics, partly by providing a creche in the Scottish Parliament. There is no such facility in Westminster.
Talat Yaqoob, of Women 5050, which campaigns for equal gender representation in politics, said: "Across the UK there is plenty of rhetoric about getting more women into politics, but what this incident highlights is that the rhetoric is not backed by real action.
READ MORE: SNP MP Kirsty Blackman cautioned after taking her children to Westminster committee
"A mother being censured for taking her children into a parliamentary committee shows how far removed political institutions are from the reality of peoples' lives. We need politics to be inclusive, accessible and crucially, be willing to provide the support needed to have a diverse group of people in the debate chamber. In Westminster debates can go on until the middle of the night, members of parliament both at Westminster and here in Scotland are expected to be available 24/7 and expected to travel across the country - for parents, how accessible is that? We know that women still take on the vast majority of the caring responsibilities , creating a politics that is more accessible for parents will absolutely mean creating a politics that is more gender equal."
As Scottish schools and nurseries closed for summer at the end of June, weeks before the parliamentary recess, the Aberdeen North representative had no choice but to take her children into parliament on Monday and Tuesday of last week.
The pair sat in an office while their mother voted against the renewal of Trident, then made history as the first children to sit in on a select committee meeting on Tuesday.
Her censure comes as a report on Westminster’s approach to equalities made 41 recommendations, warning that “considerably more needs to be done” on childcare provision.
Video footage of the meeting shows Mrs Blackman leaving her seat several times before bringing her daughter to sit on her lap.
Rebecca's contribution to the EVEL discussions consisted of her drawing on a sheet of paper.
Mrs Blackman and SNP colleague Alison Thewliss had to break with convention again in the past week, bringing children through the voting lobbies.
READ MORE: SNP MP Kirsty Blackman cautioned after taking her children to Westminster committee
Children over a year old are not permitted in the lobbies, while rules were only changed to allow babies to be brought through the lobbies during the last parliament, when Lib Dem MPs Jo Swinson and Duncan Hames had no choice but to carry their son with them to a vote.
The speaker's office is currently considering the report on better childcare for MPs.
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