Ministers are concerned the present arrangement, where the second six months of maternity leave is unpaid, only benefits affluent families.
Education secretary Charles Clarke will also announce measures to make childcare for parents of three- and four-year-olds more flexible. Parents are currently entitled to 12-and-a-half hours of childcare a week, but are only allowed to take it up in three-hour sessions.
Clarke will say parents should be able to take advantage of longer sessions, perhaps up to a full working day. But there is not expected to be a commitment to extend the provision to one- and two-year-olds.
The plan will also commit the Government to targeting more resources on tackling child poverty. Clarke is likely to announce more targets to extend children's centres from the 20 per cent of coverage under Sure Start.
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